As of next paycheck, I will finally be making the bare minimum I thought I needed before I moved here. After so mnay months of not even getting callbacks, I leapt at HBL's offer of $9.50 an hour. I'd just signed for the new car, and I knew I needed to be making more money than I had in Ripon ASAP. She was the very first person to offer something reasonably close to what I was asking, so I took it.

I had a few months of life REALLY sucking. I paid my share of the bills, and had like $10 for personal money for two weeks. Rijid bought me gas, and covered all the groceries, and indulged far too many "Ana NEEDS something shiny RIGHT NOW or she will start stabbing her brain with pointy things" to even count.

In January, things got a little easier. I got a slight raise, and started seeing 40 hours/week on a more regular basis. Also, I finally figured out the rhythm of the bills.

I was so used to always having tip money lying around, it took me a long time to adjust to normal people financing again. The whole concept of "If you spend ALL the money right now, you won't have any more for TWO WEEKS" seems so obvious, but it was really pretty difficult for me to grasp.

Finally, I worked it out. First check each month is car plus student loan. Second check is rent plus utilities plus credit cards. If the utilites aren't actually here yet, hold on to the money anyway. You know they're coming. By sticking to this schedule, I could spend $400 of each check on bills, AND have about $100 for personal maintenance (gas plus groceries).

That doesn't sound like a big deal, but it really is. Rijid always insisted he didn't mind helping me out. I have way more expenses than he does, he loves me, etc. But I HATED having to always ask him for gas money.

So. The last raise meant I could finally pay my own upkeep. If my calculations are correct, that means this whopping 34-cent raise will be pure gravy. I'm seriously WAY too excited about this. $10.03 an hour?? That's crazy-talk! NO ONE makes that kind of money!

The sucky thing is, $10.40 is the cap for hourly employees. On the one hand, $10.40 is some wonderful dream. If I made that, I'd be rolling in cash. BUT once I reach it, probably within six months, that's IT. No more raises unless I become salaried. (cf. several dozen previous rants about the likelihood of that happening.)
***
Gosh, this is gripping stuff. Is anyone even still reading?

Not gonna mention the cats. I've done a lot of cat-themed entries lately. I am not a crazy cat lady. Nope.

I asked Rijid what the boundaries really were. How many cats can one own without crossing the line? At first he said one cat was a definite step. Some crazy cat ladies only need that first cat to start showing symptoms. Then, he said that as long as the cats don't outnumber the people in your household, you're probably OK.


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