Gina and I watched some of my family's old home movies last night, as I have the projector and all the old 8mm films in my possession. She got a kick out of seeing my family and my neighbors as young-uns. We didn't watch a ton, but we watched some of them.

I just got in the mail my Cingular rebate for $50, which I completely forgot about. This is a pleasant surprise, no doubt about it. It will get me groceries for a week or so...I don't spend much on groceries, truth be told. Unless I "splurge" and buy everything in sight. But usually, I'll only buy what's on sale with my preferred card. It's amazing, really, what you can save. I've also started watching and cutting coupons. I should have been doing this before, but now I must. I hope it becomes a habit. I need some more good habits as far as finances go.

In other "good habit" news, I pulled my bike out just now and biked to Gina's apartment, surprised her in doing such, and then biked back. That's six miles, round trip. Not bad for not having ridden a bike in a couple o' years. More of this, and I'll be in tip-top shape again. I'm a bit tired, but not too bad. It's just a matter of doing a little at a time, then a little more, then a little more. Then I'll be all right. My bike, although the chain is rusty, is in pretty solid shape. I'd have had an easier time on this six miles if my tires were at road pressure and not off-road pressure (it's a mountain bike). As such, the resistance from the friction against the ground was heavier. Or something...

I have no idea why, but I slept like shit last night, until about 5am-11am. And it's weird, because usually when I can't sleep, I can pinpoint why...such as, something on my mind, uncomfortable room temperature, stomachache or headache, etc. But last night, I just couldn't seem to fall asleep. But I guess I got a decent rest between 5 and 11. Not ideal, but what else would I do if I woke up before 11?

Ah, I almost forgot...financial news I can be proud of, for a change! :) I got my SBC bill this morning, and for the second straight month, I kept under my minutes and thus kept my bill for my home phone, cell phone and DSL service under $100! That's great, especially considering that when I first signed up, they quoted me an estimate of about $110/month for all three. So this is good...I just hope I can continue to keep it that way--and I think I can. :)

I "cleaned" my bike today...now I wish I could find the kryptonite lock. I don't even know where to start looking for it. I checked this big Rubbermaid bin I have, thinking it was in there. It's not. I bet it's out in Bolingbrook somewhere...I can't really go anywhere on the bike until I get the damned lock. I mean, I could just go for a ride, which is fine and I'll probably do and all, but I'd also like to use it to go to the store or something, ya know? Ah well, the time will come for that soon enough, I guess. Besides, I need a new chain (badly) and probably could use a new rear rim. And I really need to oil the whole damn thing. The front rim, it amazes me...it's still perfect. The bearings aren't worn or dried out or anything--the wheel still spins FOREVER when I spin it by hand (when the bike's upside down), and then it even pendulums back and forth for about five minutes...that's a good thing. So I'm actually excited about the prospect of riding again. It'll be nice, and it'll get me back in shape. And that's good...and maybe, just maybe, if I stick with it, I'll be able to do day rides again. But that's a ways away from right now. :)

So, Potential Employer 1 today re-posted the two jobs I applied for...today also being the "two-week window" after which the letter they sent me stated I should assume they went in a different direction. A couple of things: 1. I talked to a guy at PFW who interviewed with them way back in the day. He said it took them about a month to contact him. 2. I'm so pissed about this, because I am so clearly qualified for either of these jobs that I can't fathom how they could pass on me. And it's not conceitedness--I AM qualified for these jobs. So I'd like to call and find out what the deal is, but I *know* that I will give them attitude at this point--and what if they're still in the process of figuring out if they're gonna interview me? That would throw my chances in the toilet. It just pisses me off. If I happen to get another job in the meantime, I'm gonna re-apply, and if they call me, I'll tell them, oh, sorry, I took another job. Your loss. Bastards.

Otherwise, I spent today watching some TV and playing some Madden 2003...then, I proved myself to be a good, knowledgeable Polack when I successfully boiled and fried up some pierogis! And they tasted fantastic. I was (and still am) so proud of myself. And the cool thing is, they were potato pierogis, so they were quite filling, and I thus have about five of them leftover for lunch tomorrow--I can then be a good Polack AND a good Catholic. :)

I cleaned and organized my room more, which included the daunting task of filing the stacks of invoices and such into my little crate o' important stuff. That took about an hour or so. So now there's no papers lying around on my floor...except for my job-search stuff and outstanding bills, and those are stacked neatly in a corner.

I figured (thank God I started this whole forecasting my budget thing when I was planning my apartment search!) I absolutely cannot live past the middle of April without a part-time gig. I will need the $150/week to supplement my unemployment income by then, or I'll be penniless, literally. So I'm giving the full-time gigs I've "applied" to two weeks, and then I'm off to every possible retail-type place or any kind of part-time work I can find. If I'm really successful and can get a couple part-time gigs that pay me more than one gig plus unemployment (not unlike Donna's situation), then that'll be fantastic. But for now, I'm willing to settle for one gig plus unemployment if I must. We shall see how it goes, I guess.

But for now, it's off to bed. I'm feeling a bit tired, believe it or not. I hope it's a bit nicer out tomorrow...I'd like to take my bike onto the deck and clean it so I can put it downstairs somewhere. I need to find my freakin' Kryptonite lock already, so I can start actually USING the bike once it gets a little warmer. Although I guess there's no real rush on that. :)

Hmmm...that didn't work. It's 10:15. I wanted to get up at 9am to head to PFW...but I was too tired. So now I'm eating my Cinnamon Toast Crunch and reading emails and blogs. I'll take the dog for a walk and then head to PFW. Hopefully I won't have to be there long. I'd rather not deal with traffic. It, of course, all depends how long I spend on the general cover letter. I hope it just flows out. Maybe I'll just use the same one I used for Potential Employer 1. That seemed all right. Ah well...we shall see.

Thankfully, the eye doctor cost only $60 for six months worth of contacts. So that won't completely break me. Now, I have to figure out if I'm gonna roll the dice and not do the health insurance for the next 18 months or pay $300/month to keep it. Actually, I have until May 10 to decide and retro-activate it. But we'll see.

Ah well...much to do, plus I have swing class tonight and then we're going with the group to Green Dolphin Street to hang out and swing dance afterward. It's nice that I have a girlfriend who has money and cares that I have a good time every now and then. :)

Still silence from Potential Employer 1. This kind of pisses me off, because I'm clearly qualified for one of the jobs, if not both of the jobs they are offering. They said two weeks, which brings us to this Thursday. If I don't hear from them by next Tuesday, I'm calling and asking why they don't like me (not in those exact words). I figure at that point, I have nothing to lose. I've nearly forgotten about Potential Employer 2, the job that I'd laugh my ass off if I got. It's too bad too. It was to be a "Sports Commissioner" for some confidential company, running fantasy leagues and real leagues and video-game leagues. It would have paid (get this) a base salary of $75,000, with prospects to make up to $100,000. That's why I'd have lauged my ass off if I got it. Especially since the maximum requirement for application was a high school diploma. But I forgot, I'm not supposed to make good money in my life...it's just not in the stars for me. Silly me.

I'm armed with the addresses of nearly 20 Chicagoland-based magazines that I will have at "work" tomorrow to print out general cover letters and send off resumes to. I'm just throwing shit at the wall now, just hoping something sticks, as far as journalism goes. I'd apply to the two night-desk jobs that are in front of me, but I really don't want to give up my nights and weekends. It's not laziness that's preventing me from applying, it's a general desire not to work that shift. So those are end-of-the-rope moves.

What about going back to school? Well...I don't know. What for and how? That costs money, ya know? And I wouldn't be going for a Masters...it would be for a Bachelor's. Then I say, well, if I'm gonna go to "school," why don't I just join a trade union? That would require schooling, and theoretically would pay me to apprentice (some do, some don't)...but I don't know.

I'm off to Bolingbrook for my eye-doctor appointment after I take the dog out. I'll be out there most of the day. From there, who knows what happens.

Uh-oh...I feel the creepings of laziness working their way in. :)

Today I was gonna go to PFW, but I decided, eh, I'm sleepy, I slept horribly Saturday night, so I'll just sleep in. Besides, the only real reason I was gonna go today was to tell them what they can pay me for part-time work. But I'll just call and let them know. There's no need to drive all the way up there. I mean, I have stories upon stories to print, but I can do all that on Wednesday, when I'll definitely go in there. That, by the way, is my unofficial last day. I need to call AFLAC too, to find out how to continue their service (and how to get reimbursed for the eye doctor's appointment tomorrow).

I heard that Home Depot (where, honestly, I wouldn't mind working if I had to) is accepting applications only until Thursday. So this puts me in a bind. Do I apply? Because if it comes down to it, honestly, I'd rather work at Home Depot than, say, K-mart. But it's too early to jump into that pool of job opportunities wholeheartedly, I think. Plus, then I'd have to figure out when, exactly, I worked for K-mart (since it's obviously not on my resume. :) ).

I also have to get hooked into that Writer's Market thing and send out resumes blindly, hoping something catches. It's kind of like fishing with spinner baits. You just cast and reel in, cast and reel in. Hopefully I have more luck with the job search than with fishing. I was never lucky.