Oversleeping and underworking

Oversleeping and Underworking

I slept right through my alarm clock this morning. The night before last the sleeping pills (only 50mg) didn't work, and I was up from 2:30 to 5:30. So last night I took matters into my own hands and took two of them. Ahh, sleeping! (To forstall any comments about that, my doctor said that they regularly perscribe up to 250mg of this stuff, so I'm still safe) Nan called me at ten minutes past when I was supposed to open the shop for employees and I had to dash downstairs in my pajamas. Normally I don't go in until 12:30 on mondays, but today I'm supposed to be going in and working the morning shift to help sort the new load. Well, now I've waited so long I'm only going in an hour and a half early. Oh well, that still gives me time to run to Petco after work and get some catfood and litter.

5:30 Calzones practice, and then over to Sean and Kris' to watch both Kill Bills. I don't know if I'm ready for that level of violence, but we'll see.

My Theme Song

This Year's Theme Song

JIMMY EAT WORLD - Praise Chorus Lyrics

Are you gonna live your life wonderin' standing in the back
lookin' around?
Are you gonna waste your time thinkin' how you've grown up or
how you missed out?
Things are never gonna be the way you want.
Where's it gonna get you acting serious?
Things are never gonna be quite what you want.
Or even at 25, you gotta start sometime.
I'm on my feet, I'm on the floor, I'm good to go.
Now all I need is just to hear a song I know.
I wanna always feel like part of this was mine.
I wanna fall in love tonight.
Are you gonna live your life standing in the back looking
around?
Are you gonna waste your time?
Gotta make a move or you'll miss out.
Someone's gonna ask you what it's all about.
Stick around nostalgia won't let you down.
Someone's gonna ask you what it's all about.
Whatcha gonna have to say for yourself?
I'm on my feet, I'm on the floor, I'm good to go.
Now all I need is just to hear a song I know.
I wanna always feel like part of this was mine.
I wanna fall in love tonight.
Crimson and clover, over and over.
Crimson and clover, over and over.
Our house in the middle of the street, why did we ever meet?
Started my rock 'n roll fantasy.
Don't don't, don't let's start, why did we ever part?
Kick start my rock 'n rollen heart.
I'm on my feet, I'm on the floor, I'm good to go.
So come on Davey, sing me somethin' that I know.
I wanna always feel like part of this was mine.
I wanna fall in love tonight.
Here tonight.
I wanna always feel like part of this was mine
I wanna fall in love tonight.

FINALLY

FINALLY!

Guess what I finally finished today!

Adventures in doing nothing, and how much I suck at it

Adventures in doing nothing, and how much I suck at it.

I did very well yesterday in the bed rest department. After teaching the two of my classes that didn't get cancelled, I went to the library, checked out half a dozen books, and came home. I read Orson Scott Card's Sarah yesterday in between naps, meandered into our common living room, and talked to Nancy for a while before downing my first sleeping pill.

Last night I slept from 12-6, 7-9, and had a nap after breakfast this morning from 11-1. I count that as an accomplishment, even if I did wake up once.

Today I went to Bible Study at 2, stopping at Metal Pro's house on the way to drop off a mic for his latest Metal Cobras of Death adventure. Denise and I read 10 chapters of Numbers today, and will be very glad to get out of the Pentateuch and onto the action adventure stuff. We feel we have a very good handle on sacrifices, less of a handle on levitical law, and no understanding of the juxtaposition of the moodiness-o-God vs. the whining of the Hebrews in Numbers. Of course, when you spread it out over 40 years it makes more sense than the editing process that makes events happen right on top of each other. Good that editing has finally entered into the picture. Moses was a redundant writer, and if someone had mentioned to him along the way that it would be perfectly within the realm of reason to combine what God said, Moses relating it, and the Israelites actually doing it into a single narration, the Bible would be a short novella. But the timeline is hard to follow post Red Sea.

Then I went to the branch library, hoping to use the last of my energy to find a couple more scholarships to research. I looked through an entire book of scholarships and found 4 for my trouble. If only I was a minority, or a high school senior, or had a legally disabled parent, I could get all the money I need. If I were all three I'd never had to work again. I could just stay in school indefinately. But as a post undergraduate, non-disadvantaged, and childless non-minority under the age of thirty five, I'm going to have to keep looking. And write a lot of essays.

Then I came home with an oven pizza, made that, and threw together some green been cassarole and fudge brownies while I waited for dinner. I'm going to take a nap after I print out a few application to put in the appropriate section of my file cabinet.

Two Major Developments

Two Major Developments

The first is, I'm finally being medically treated for insomnia. I haven't slept well since August, and now my doctor is going to try sleeping pills for a while. Last night I slept 6 hours before I woke up, and then another two, and I took a two hour nap after breakfast. Hopefully just sleeping through the night on a regular basis will aleviate some of the stress I've been under. Because we all know that none of us are capable of rational thought when exhausted.

In other news, I've applied for Grad School. No, I'm not going anywhere, it's an accredited online college. I've been looking at their program for two years, and they're offering a class again that I've really wanted to take. I've decided that I'm not going to pay any money out of pocket if I can help it, beyond my application fee, so I'll begin my first class when I win my first scholarship. I have my second one due on the 15th of February. I'm going to dual major, and my first class will be "C.S. Lewis, his writings and works." I've been looking at that class for ages, and the best part? I already have all of the required reading on my bookshelves. So no extra money there. And while, right now, I'm clearly in no shape to begin anything else, by being enrolled in their program I'm eligable for more scholarships than I would be otherwise. We'll see where this goes.

A Jonah Day

A Jonah Day

Today is my long day. I started with 7:30 prayer breakfast, then an hour of eBaying, then the store opened. I finished the third coat on the bathroom I've been working on painting mustard yellow. Then I went upstairs to grab three packages that needed to be shipped today. Someday we'll have everything set up so all I have to do is print out labels and the USPS person will pick them up from the store. But that's about three steps to go yet. Until all of our various accounts are verified, I have to do the legwork to the post office. Which I spent my lunch break doing, an ended up getting back to work 15 minutes late. Because I drove through Flukeys for a burger and pepsi. Because weight is melting off me still. I'm eating, but running around like a mad woman and another size or two is gone, meaning yet another search for jeans that are small enough. And I was finally settled in a 3/4.

On my way to the post office, I came downstairs and our register employee told me that she'd heard the rudest thing about me. Some lady came in and said, "It's cold in here." "Yes it is," Tessa replied. "It would be even colder if Rachel was here," Ms. Prunaprisma said. I didn't even know she didn't like me. And she's no charmer herself.

So the day went downhill from there. I've been on the verge of a nuclear meltdown all day.

And just before the work day was finally over, I went into the back to reorganize the kids clothing room. I'd pulled tons of adult clothing off the racks into a pile to be taken back into the store, and another pile of stained and ripped clothing to be baled. As I was behind another rack pulling infant clothes out of the big kids, a lady comes in, tromps all over the pile of clothes and announces that "this place is a mess. SOMEONE should come back here and clean it up.....um....do you work here?"

I'm going to bed.

Um

Bizy. Bakson.Lots of things happening right now. Quit one, since I no longer had time for it. But hopefully the next few evenings will be uneventful.

Attack of the Fuzzy Pink Sweater

The Fuzzy Pink Sweater Strikes Again

I put on the pink one this time to talk to Rusillo's for some hot chocolate with my paperwork. As I sat there writing like a maniac, a grizzly haired guy across the room said something in my general direction that began with "do you mind (mumble mumble)?" I didn't have a clue what he said, so I shook my head and gestured, go ahead, and went back to writing.

Right before I left he brought me a slice of his pizza to taste - avacado and chicken, and then gave me the picture he'd drawn of me from pastels. The employees said it didn't look like me, but it had my hairline, nose, chin, and forehead. Pretty good at that, though it isn't the most flattering picture of me. Profile, and my hair pulled back.

I have it posted on my wall.

Thank God it's the weekend. Almost

Thank God it's the weekend....er, almost

I am so ready for it to be this evening. Even though I'm going to have to work a few extra minutes to make up for coming in late from teaching, and I need to get some things listed on eBay tonight. Of course that's all subject to change if any plans arise.

Bible Study tomorrow at 2. Two services on Sunday, and various Calzones practices here and there to get ready for a possible gig on the 26th? Something like that.

I watched 40 Year Old Virgin last night. It was actually not bad. I'd been told that it was horrible and I wouldn't like it. Actually, I thought it had a lot of redeeming value. I was especially glad at the end, when he gets drunk and sad, he doesn't end up ruining it with the lady he actually loves by going for a fling with the bar bimbo. That was great.

Off to work for another hour and a half or two, then I'm FREE!!!

Kiddo Lady

My name isn't "Kiddoe!"

I'm shuddering. The Kiddoe Lady just came through the door. She's very nice. But she always calls me Kiddoe. Its probably just a reaction to spending ten months on tour with every set of kitchen volunteers referring to me as "The little girl with the headscarf," but I hate being thought of as a child. Sure, I'm short. And I sometimes don't wear a ton of makeup. One guy, in conversation as I was straightening out a rack of shoes, said, "You can't be old enough for that. You can't be any older than 17!" Actually, I'm 25. And two jobs ago, when I was 23, everyone at work thought I was in my 30's. Maybe it was the suit and heels.

Back to the lady. She's very chatty. She doesn't just want to come in and buy anything, but she has to discuss her purchases with us. And what she's going to do with them, and why she wants them. There's a certain type of customer that does that - usually very old widows in a nursing home for whom the store is their only social outing - but she doesn't fit the profile. She's perhaps in her 60's, but she has the look of a retired teacher. And at the end of it, when she's being rung up, she always manages to slip in a kiddoe. One day, after completing a very simple transaction, she told me, "You did a great job there kiddoe." It left me confused. Does she think I'm one of the program women who are here to learn basic job skills? I guess I should be thrilled to know I did well, but tacking the kiddoe on the end makes one feel like a child who's very proudly showing her mother a drawing of a tree. Or perhaps a frog. Definately green anyway. But you have to bolster their self esteem. Maybe it's a latent cocktail waitress vibe. When I worked in the bar, people who bothered to converse with me were amazed to find that I wasn't a single mother with several illegitmate but charming children. (Actual quote one time: "Where did a girl like you come up with a word like that?") It's certainly not my clothes that are the problem. We're fairly casual around here - too much hauling to break out my suits - but I usually wear nice jeans and a sweater. I digress. Maybe I should wear my assistant manager nametag more often.

Another Weekend Away

Another Weekend Away

After a week of managing the store while Nancy was out trying NOT to have pneumonia, I decided on Thursday that I needed a break. Friday after work I packed a bag, grabbed the two boxes of clothes I wanted to take the the Wycliffe head office, and Tasha's book that she left behind last time she was here, and got on the road to Portland. Somewhere along the Dalles, Tasha called to tell me the team was going to the movies, and would it mess up my plans if she went along. No, in fact it gave me a chance to hit the Fabric Depot on my way into town.

I met the new team members and my former castmates at the arcade outside the theater. Then Tasha and I went to a diner for dinner for me, and coffee for her. When we got to her house I checked the status of two auctions on eBay that were supposed to end while I was en route, so I'd bid on both. It turns out I won both of them, so sometime next week I'm going to have a proliferation of underwear showing up.

Saturday morning I slept in until 9, then went to Powell's Bookstore. I shouldn't have bought anything, but I only get there a couple of times a year if I'm lucky and in the area, so I bought Kahlil Gibran's "Jesus, the Son of Man." Gibran has written whole bunches of books, among them "The Prophet." The closest author I could compare him to would be Paulo Coelho, who wrote "The Alchemist." Though Gibran is more poetry than novella. After that I drove to Mock's Crest, the duplex at the Evangelical Center that the teams stays at while in rehearsal. It was Angie's day to cook, so for once I got to be on her crew, instead of the other way around. And I talked to Torrie at lunch. Her first question was, "Are they feeding you at the mission?" I've dropped several sizes, but I attribute that more to the lack of elevator and multiple trips up and down some major flights of stairs each day. Plus the whole too busy to cook and don't feel like it anyway thing.

Then Austen and Tasha and I went out for more coffee, and talked until it was time to leave town. It was so stinking good to see everyone. I also got a few minutes to chat with Adam (who may get to do the skateboarding tour he's been wanting to since last spring) and Rebecca, who I've promised to write.

Sunday morning I woke up early as all get out to be at church by 7:30. Whoever leaked it to the Presbyterians that I can play keyboard in a band needs to be shot. It's fun once I get there, but getting up before 8:30 kills me. Stupid morning people. There's not enough coffee in the world to combat cheerfulness at that hour.

Since I was out of town Saturday, we moved Bible study to Sunday instead. 10 more chapters of Leviticus under our belts. NOT the most thrilling reading in the world. We had Johanna and Nathaniel join us, which was fun, up until we had to read the discharge and sexual purity laws aloud in mixed company. Tuesday night we'll be finishing up Leviticus and perhaps getting into Numbers. We'll be glad to get back into the action sequences soon. Though, thanks to some clever hand motions and a few discussions of "what the heck did we just read?" I'm pretty clear on the three different types of sacrifices.

And now I'm at work. I came in an extra hour this morning to start sorting stuff in our stockroom. Our AARP employee has been pretty much doing all the sorting solo since Christmas. Nancy and I usually get back there and sort the load between "Antiques" and "Bargains" so that all the employees have to do is decide on a price. Hopefully we've already caught all of the expensive or collectible stuff. But with the Christmas sale and then Nancy being out, there's been no time to do that. If you'd been in the store recently you could have bought Depression glass for $.25. It just about killed me when an American Platter went away for $.75. So I hauled myself out of bed to try and put an end to that.

In other news, my first round of eBay auctions go off tonight. There are bids on almost everything, but I'm hoping the bidding wars will start in the next couple of hours. I'd really like to sell high the first time around...

Hang out not. Do. Or do not. There is no hanging out.

Hang out not. Do. Or do not. There is no hanging out.

I have declared a moritorium on hanging out. It is the dumbest concept ever invented. It isn't even a verb. It might be a clause. Anyway. With hanging out the idea is this: A person is with another person and is enjoying their company (singular or plural). One of them says, "hey. Let's hang out." Which should not be interpreted to mean "we're actually going to do something." This phrase should be interpreted to mean, "I don't have any specific plans other than my usual melange of evening puttering, so why don't you come over so that I can have you in my general vicinity." There's no guarantee as to a time that this will occur, or that it even will happen. Because anything trumps a 'hang out.'

The thing I don't understand is the very nature of the invitation, or rather, the non-invitation. You aren't setting a time, a place, or an activity. There is nothing planned, you are not being entertained, nor does the invite even guarantee that you will interact with the other person. They may talk to you about whatever they would have been doing anyway. So the invite basically boils down to: "come watch me do nothing for an unspecified period of time. Maybe."

Does this annoy anyone else? I get so frustrated at hanging out because I take it as a 'plan.' I am going to be doing something with someone on said evening. So I rearrange my schedule, get my extracurriculars out of the way so that I'm available for them to call with specifics.

On the chance that they do call, then I'm trapped at someone else's house watching them watch tv, check email, cook dinner, talk on the phone, clean their room, fold laundry, or whatever, trying to pretend like I'm having a good time. Because they always ask that, don't they? "Are you having fun?" No, actually, I'm bored and mad because there are a million other things I should be doing with my evening that I put off or rushed through to come be with you. And you aren't even talking to me. Sometimes I get smart and bring a book or some quilting. But really people! Why do we need to plan to amuse ourselves at someone else's activity?

And then there's the more common occurance. "Let's hang out I'll call you" turns into a no call no show.

There is a time and a place for true "hanging out." We saw it last night, as Dad and I were discussing it over Asian food. The waitress' boyfriend had brought homework to the restaurant so he could "hang out" with her when it was slow. Then he got a phone call from work. He ignored the call and asked her, "Do you want me to work, or would do you want me to come hang out with you?" Dad wanted to poll them about hanging out, but thank Goodness he didn't.

There are times when hanging out is fun. But it's when the expectations for the evening are clearly laid out before hand. In college Adrian and I lived on opposite sides of the same apartment building. We sometimes cooked together, since cooking for one is miserable. We'd go place, go out for dinner, run errands together, you know, do things. Often, when I'd have an alteration to do or costuming emergencies, or recital dresses to finish, I'd call Adrian and ask him if he'd like to come keep me company and watch movies while I sewed. And he would. But he knew that's what he was doing. And he'd bring something he needed to do, and if he needed to go, he was only two doors away and could run home.

Nancy, Denise and I pop in and out and chat while we're all doing things. But again, we live there. So it's not a big inconvenience.

So, my hanging out days are over. If someone wants to do something, call me. If someone wants me to come over and watch a movie, or play a game, or sit around and chat, pick a time and let me know. If you want to plan an evening where I have something to do and you have something to do and lets do it together, pick a time and let me know that's what we're doing so I can bring something. And if plans change, CALL ME so I can get on with my evening. But PLEASE no more "hanging out."

eBay

Find IT there

I've been out of the loop all week starting up our eBay site. Finally, tuesday night I got my first item listed. Last night I listed another, and then, after Mom made a guest appearance and woke me up, I listed another nine. And this morning I checked the site and I have a bid!!!! I'm so excited! We have very limited funds to start listing things, so my listing to selling ratio has to be pretty high or I'll run out.

*An update: I just checked my listings, and 8 out of 10 are selling within 24 of my putting them online! Hurrah!*

Grown-up Job

Grown-up Job

The past 24 hours were my first day as a grown up. No really. At least the first day I felt like one. Last week I had a twinge. I had spent the day calling back and forth with someone I was trying to arrange dinner plans, and we kept having to "hold on, I'm busy, could I call you back?" The plans were for 5, and I had to be a few minutes late to close down the store. On my way to dinner, a few minutes after five, sitting at a stoplight, the twinge hit me. I was going to have dinner after work with someone else who was coming from work, and then I had to go back to work to finish the paperwork for the evening. *Twinge of adulthood.*

Yesterday Nancy was out sick, so I ran the place all day. Directed volunteers, made decisions, trained new employees, and checked off more items on our spring to-do list. (Nothing I don't do on a normal day, but for once all decisions rested with me.) At five I closed the shop, but still had work to do. So, here's the amazing bit, I kept working. I finished some organizing in the store and then went upstairs to get my eBay workstation ready. I set up our USPS shipping account, hooked up my printers to our new computer and downloaded (uploaded?) the software, hung my personal to-do list on the wall, and researched a few more items we hope to be listing soon. The point being, I worked late to finish a project. Then, after dinner I went back to work to tidy up, and spent some time online researching online coursework for my own benefit. Then I set my alarm early.

This morning, I woke up half an hour early, did a load of dishes, made a pot of coffee, cooked breakfast which I ate while checking my email, and then jumped in the shower and went to work. I got some more of the "to do" list for the store crossed off, taught three classes, got my shipping area in the eBay workstation organized, and tonight I'll be working late again to post our first items online.

*Twinge* *Twinge* *Twinge*

Know-it-all Lady

Know-it-All Lady

The Know-it-all Lady was in the store today. We see her several times a week. Sometimes every day. When I first started working here she drove me CRAZY. She always answered for me when another customer had a question. She'd come up to the front with a bizarre item from the farm room asking "Do you know what this is..." and then proceed to tell me.

Several times, though, she saved me when a difficult customer wanted to know why I couldn't tell her what something was. As if I'm supposed to have unlimited knowledge of endless nic-nacks and farm implements. She knew that a round, thick glass bowl was actually the base of a chicken waterer. She identified an item that, to me, looked like a bit of rusty metal. I can't remember what it turned out to be, but it was underpriced and quite valuable if the right collector happened by.

Now a day doesn't seem quite right if she doesn't come in for her cup of hot coffee. She's our best salesperson. If another customer is vassilating on whether to buy something, she jumps in with how much of a steal it is, and after all, it's 20% off today (She also knows all of our sales). They usually buy it. And she knows the answer to every ailment. Today she advised washing my dishes with bleach and pouring more down all the drains to keep the "grunge" (the cold I've been fighting for weeks) from reoccuring. And I got to trade cat-keeping-us-up-at-night stories as she walked out the door.

I love the Know-it-all Lady!

Groggy Thoughts of a Saturday Evening

Groggy Thoughts of a Saturday Evening

I took a nap for an hour. First mistake. Now I'm wandering around and crashing into walls. It always takes a while for me to shake off a nap.

This afternoon five of us played two rounds of Trivial Pursuit LOTR. The guys (AKA Mike) won one round and the girls (Sometimes known as Me) won one. Which brings Mike and My total LOTR score to Mike: 1, Me:2. Denise and Nancy both decided to watch the trilogy with Sam again before we play the next round. And The three of us Lamba Deltas are going to play Star Wars Trivial Pursuit tonight.

And I was going to talk more but we're all here now and are going to Borders.

Tales of a lone Protestant

Tales of a Lone Protestant

Another winning day in classes. The kids are not settled down from break yet, and keeping them quiet is a major undertaking. Kindergarten was a zoo. I'd decided over break to supplement the "silly" songs we're learning with a few Bible memory songs -- G.T. and the Halo Express stuff. And those clever songs we all learned in Sunday School to help recall which books go in which order. I put up the "Books of the New Testament" overhead and asked the kids if they looked familiar. Blank Stares. One girl in the back tentatively put up her hand and said that maybe they were stories about Jesus. I asked them how many of them had a Bible. Their parents? Ever read one? Crickets chirping. So we're learning them. And hopefully someday it'll connect.

Speaking of which, I dodged a bullet yesterday. We were singing I Timothy 4:12 yesterday and discussing the word "purity." We looked it up in the dictionary to find out it meant "without sin, innocent." Who is a good example of without sin. "God!" Good. "Jesus." Great. "Mary." Ummm... "Joseph!" Mooooving on quickly before I stick my protestant foot into my mouth and have several dozen parents calling the school.

I'm sick again. Still. About the time I start feeling better I have a busy couple of days and take a few steps back. I am supposed to skiing tomorrow, but with my current energy level, I fear I'll make two runs and be too exhausted to finish the day, and down for the count all weekend. I need to call Amanda.

Work is a mess. We've cleaned up most of the main rooms, but the clothes rooms look like my bedroom after my third clothes change of the day, and the bargain rooms are, literally, a disaster area. I spent several hours reorganizing the book room today (my pet project) and I'm nowhere near finished.

Last night was Bar Study. Another 8 chapters of Exodus covered. We're to the tedious parts now -- post Red Sea crossing, into 10 Commandments, the Law, and everyone's favorite, the building of the Tabernacle. Thrilling reading there. Actually last night we discussed how much of Old Testment Law is still part of our value system today -- for instance, one verse says that if an animal gores another animal, then the owner is not responsible, unless the animal has a history of goring, in which case the animal should be killed and the owner made to make restitution. There were even a few we thought could stand to be brought back -- especially those talking about exactly how much restitution is enough (instead of our sue happy culture).

Then over to Sean and Kris' to watch The Wedding Crashers. Which was way funnier than I expected, even watching the "uncut" version. I like Owen Wilson a lot. And the main girl from Mean Girls was in it. Then some discussion of Final Fantasy, which invariably led to the idiot question by me: what the heck is it. I think I lost some brownie points.

Hurrah for an evening with nothing to do, unless I decide to be social. I love Wednesdays.

Fuzzy Sweater Strikes Again

Fuzzy Sweater Strikes Again

I stopped for gas at Albertson's and decided to do the smart thing and check my oil. As I'm opening the hood and wiping off the dipstick, the guy at the next pump over says, "Need any help there, Miss?" "No thanks, I've got it covered," I replied. Did I mention I was wearing the pink one?

New Year Beginnings

New Year

This year has started off well with a veritable date yesterday for coffee. It was lovely. I so dread small talk with strangers, but he's very easy to talk to. Plus he's from Yakima, lives in LA, teaches and does the acting thing, so there was plenty to talk about.

Last night was ledger extravaganza night. My only resolution per se is to keep doing what I've been doing only more so.

And I'm off now to go register my car in Washington. I've somehow misplaced the title to my car, so I'm going to take a stack of ownership papers and my loan application and see if that will fly. If not, I have to wait until the banks open and get my bank in California to fax a copy. And I really won't have time to do that until later this week. I'd rather just get it done if I can.

Year End Report

Year End Report

For all you Mary Hunt-ers out there, here's my year end debt payoff.

In 2004 I made approx $27,000.00. I paid off $3,213.89 in loans and $783.74 in credit card debt, totalling $3,997.63.

In 2005 I made approx $15,000.00. I paid off $4,704.02 in loans and $1646.53 in credit card debt (Most of which was moving my stuff from Waco. My credit card still exists happily on ice, but I had to use it to buy gas for moving. Once I pay it off again it's going to sit happily out of the way indefinately). So this year I made almost half as much as the previous year and paid off $2,352.92 more in debts than the year before. I am thrilled about that.

My projections for 2006 are: Finish paying off my move by the 15th of January, I should have my car paid off by July or August at the latest ($2,700.00 to go on that). Then I can begin funneling money into the last of my student loans (Approx $10,000 to go of the original $25,000). Hopefully if I really gun it I can be completely debt free by January 2008. My RDRP has it lasting until mid-2009, but maybe, maybe, I can suck it up and get done early! That's where things stand this year. Let me know how you all are doing on yours.