(no subject)

[geekchick]

Well, that was more of an adventure than I'd planned.

I took my car to Sears this afternoon to have the front brake pads replaced; I figured I'd be in and out in about an hour and a half, tops. Alas, no. The pads and a rotor and a caliper need to be replaced, and unsurprisingly they won't have that last part until tomorrow. Other than having this come out to be a couple hundred dollars more than I expected (thus wiping out the money I was planning to put towards a short vacation) it's not such a bad thing; C. and I left my car in the bay to hopefully have it taken care of first thing tomorrow and walked home from the mall, enjoying the rare combination of sunshine and low humidity. It's only a bit over two miles, not a bad walk at all, and I definitely could use the exercise I got.

There's a lot of expensive car repairs and maintenance in my future, I suspect. Next up: the alternator. Again. It really does need to be replaced soon, as the horrible noise it's making is driving me insane. At least I found my hammock and stand for the deck for cheap (thanks for the recommendation, winterbadger), so I can sprawl out there in the evening and think about the vacations my mechanics will be taking. ;) I probably shouldn't have splurged on it, but it was on sale for less than I could find a hammock and a stand for locally, plus I ended up getting 89 pounds of relaxation shipped cross-country via UPS for $1.87 thanks to catching the abovementioned sale; can't beat that!

I really should be more responsible with my money. I do have part of my check going straight into savings every payday (a recent development; if anyone wants to open an ING savings account, they'll put $25 in your account if I refer you), as well as automatic payments on my credit cards from every paycheck to try to pay those down, but I don't really have much of a cushion to fall back on. I'm getting too old to not have any real savings to speak of, especially when I make a decent salary and have generally a reasonable amount left over after rent and bills. I'm Instant Gratification Girl though, in addition to having an unfortunate tendency toward retail therapy, so I end up with not much saved and a ton of stuff cluttering up the place. Something to work on adjusting. Do I need a hammock? No, of course not. Will it make me happy and will I get a good amount of use out of it? I think so. I should try to ask myself these questions before every reasonably-large purchase and see what answers I come up with. If it turns out that I was wrong about the amount of use and enjoyment I get out of a purchase, I should sell it to someone who will enjoy it or donate it. Less clutter, plus the knowledge that someone else is happy.

Comments

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

The hammock is a small expense... car repairs are a necessary work expense, unless one has good public transportation available. So I wouldn't kick myself over either of those, personally. And the hammock looks suitable for cuddling... ?

At this point, the squealing alternator has become audibly-associated with your car for me, anyway... almost comforting, when I'm visiting you. (ducking)

[geekchick]

The hammock is a small expense

In the grand scheme of things, sure. It just wasn't an ideal time to spend that money though as I had other things I'd wanted to do that probably won't get done now that I've spent $300 on the brakes.

almost comforting

Well, sorry I'll be taking that away. It's not comforting to either me or my neighbors.

[winterbadger]

You're welcome. It was a fortunate recommendation for them, since it also got me thinking about the fact that, the original hammock now having two other people who frequently want to use it at the same time I do, I should probably make us a two-hammock house. And, of course, once an idea like that gets in my head...

I set it up yesterday (I had taken the day off) and enjoyed it immensely. I think the weather gods are rewarding us for buying hammocks by giving us warm (not hot) days and cool nights for a week or so. I know I'll be heading home ASAP to get back into my new delight. Of course, my porch isn't screened like the upstairs one, so the cats sit at my window and stare accusingly at me as I rest (I took Nick out on a leash, but he quickly figured out how to get out of the harness, so he had to go back inside). And the mosquitos are out. But incense seems to keep most of them away, and even a few bites are worth the pleasure of reclining in gently swaying comfort. :-)

I should try to ask myself these questions before every reasonably-large purchase and see what answers I come up with. If it turns out that I was wrong about the amount of use and enjoyment I get out of a purchase, I should sell it to someone who will enjoy it or donate it. Less clutter, plus the knowledge that someone else is happy.

That's a very sensible plan; I shall try that myself (as I'm instant gratification guy much too often...)

I'll fix yer car, hon

[madbodger.livejournal.com]

I'm a fairdinkum greasemonkey, remember?