So some of yesterday’s unholy tangles got straightened out today. We now have a username and pw that will get us into the sites on WestHost — turns out we were trying to get in through the wrong URL. Oops.
The authorization code to free the Writers Plain & Simple domain name from WordPress came through some hours into the morning. With that in hand, I managed to find a LIVE HUMAN BEING (can you imagine????) at GoDaddy to complete the job.
These tergiversations occupied half the morning, but at least they resulted in getting something done, for a change.
Meanwhile, in the Bidness Enterprise Department…
a) The Scottsdale Business Association is considering an initiative to reach out to colleges and universities to collaborate on internships or apprenticeships for young people interested in careers in the various industries we represent. I reached a woman at Paradise Valley Community College who was delighted to hear from us. She’s now on our speaker’s list for next week!
b) A friend who’s an éminence grise in scholarly publishing gave me the name of a contact at a very prominent press (indeed!) who she thinks might be interested in the Informed Choices manuscript. So! Off that goes to him in the next day or two.
The morning’s productive time was leached away by a bunch of errands: had to deposit some checks in the credit union, and, while in that part of town, run by the Costco to pick up a minimal store of necessaries. Then, infuriatingly, I had to waste some more of my time sitting in line and screwing around with getting the car emission-tested.
I’m sure the state used to require these only every two years. And I’m equally sure that I killed a bunch of time in last summer’s heat on this same fool’s errand. My car is meticulously maintained and so has never failed an emissions test and is never likely to. Why can’t citizens simply present their maintenance records to demonstrate that their vehicles are unlikely to be contributing any more pollution than, say, the mines and smelters that distribute ozone and CO2 around the region?
Mercifully, this series of nuisances consumed far less time than expected.
Costco opens at 10 a.m., the credit union at 9. I figured if I could hit the CU at 9:30 I’d get to the Costco right at 10.
Arrived, however, at the credit union early: 9:15. No line inside: business conducted rapidly and efficiently.
Turned into the Costco parking lot at exactly 9:43 a.m. Almost 20 minutes before the store opened, but the gas pumps were open and the lines were short.
Parked right in front of the store about 10 minutes to the hour. Because of the 100-degree heat, employees were letting early birds in the door.
Shot into the store, grabbed the dog meat, grabbed the frozen dog veggies, grabbed some fresh fruit, grabbed the paper towels and toilet paper, grabbed a bottle of maple syrup, and charged the checkout line. Only one person in front of me, and he was halfway done.
Turned on the car’s ignition: 9:13 a.m.
Not freaking bad, eh? Filled up the car and got in and out of the Costco in under half an hour! Woo HOO!
Then it was off to the dreaded emissions test nuisance. Three cars were in line ahead of me, one already lashed up in the machinery. Figured to have to sit there in the heat with the air-conditioning off for about 15 minutes. Pisseth me off!
But no! When the car in the shed moved forward, the worker motioned the guy ahead of me and me to move into the shed!
There have been some changes made at that place! They now have a much faster, more efficient “test” — only took a couple of minutes to run that and fleece me for $20 — and they can do two cars at a time. So even though I resented having to pay twenty bucks for nothing, at least I got outta there fairly fast.
Now I have to pony up another $41 to register the damn car.
Glad I didn’t buy a new car. If I had, the bill would be more like $400.
Flew home, put away the Costco junk, flew down to AJ’s Amazingly Fancy Purveyor of Gourmet Items to pick up some stuff that can’t be had at Costco. All told, spent only about $180, less than a normal monthly Costco run.
Now I intend to stay out of Costco until this time next month, after the AMEX billing cycle closes.
The American Express bill this month was only $1400, despite the $214 for the new side mirrors and the $400+ for the tires. That means that absent the unplanned car bills, I probably came in about $315 under the $1100 budget. Could be a great deal worse.
Of course, that happened because I spent the better part of a week in the hospital and another week flat on my back in bed. But despite its unfortunate delivery, the message is that the more you stay out of Costco, the less you spend!
After another hour online and on the phone trying to get the domain name moved, I just could not face any more computer hassles! So once again the diet/cookbook didn’t get online. Tomorrow! Really!
Threw some potatoes and a slab of meat on the grill, fixed a salad, and had a decent meal. Then wrote another few grafs of the current Biker Babe installment.
Speaking of all this, it’s 7:30 p.m. and there’s still bookkeeping and bill-paying to do. And so, to work. Interminably to work…
A couple of questions…. Do you shop exclusively at Costco or do you also shop at a regular grocery store?….Do you shop at Costco for $ savings or convenience?….And lastly, You have a budget of $1100 a month and sometimes it gets tight….Can you imagine if you had a car payment and a house payment?
I would be doomed if I had a mortgage.
I used the proceeds from Math Magic, a best-seller I wrote for (and “with”) a guy named Scott Flansburg, to pay off the mortgage to the house, TOTALLY over my financial adviser’s dead body. It was incredibly lucky that I was able to do that and that I had the chutzpah to disobey his considered opinion, because if I’d had to make mortgage payments at the time I was laid off my job, I would have lost the house.
And you know, I’m really, REALLY glad I didn’t by a RAM 1500 (seen the news from Wired about the hackers and the new computerized vehicles)? The more I drive my un-connected, uncool, unentertaining, untrackable, unhackable Dog Chariot, the more I love the thing.
I shop at Costco for specific items that I can’t easily get at regular grocers. For a long time I bought most of my groceries there, but more recently have found it’s much more budget-friendly to buy groceries in smaller quantities as needed. The standard purchases?
Lifetime supplies of toilet paper (Kirkland’s is now superior to any I’ve found in a grocery store or Target)
Lifetime supplies of paper towels (I just hate buying three or four rolls of paper towels every week or two!)
Lifetime supplies of dishwasher detergent
Bags of the “Tuscany” style frozen vegetables, which I use in concocting dog food.
Pork “country ribs,” for dog food
Boneless chicken thighs, same purpose
Packages of “Campari” tomatoes, because they taste more like real tomatoes than any other small red vegetative balls on the market anywhere
Bags of pecans, walnuts, pine nuts, and shelled pistachios, to use in cooking and for snacking
Boxes of blueberries, which last long enough that one person can eat them all
Containers of shredded Parmesan cheese, which can’t be beat by any grocery retailer around here
Olive oil
Butter, in lifetime supplies
Pantene shampoo and conditioner in giant bottles, if I can find it
Bottles of rubbing alcohol in industrial quantities, for making tile & glass cleaner
Bottles of white vinegar in like amounts, also for cleaning
Wild caught frozen fish
Otherwise, I’ve pretty well stopped buying stuff I used to get there all the time. I no longer buy much alcohol; when I do it’s at places like Total Wine, where I can get a better selection and a better price. I no longer buy industrially produced meats or farmed fish — instead I eat less meat but better meat, buying smaller amounts of more expensive grass-fed, hormone beef, pork & chicken and wild-caught fish. Produce can be had in smaller quantities at grocers; probably costs more but there’s less waste. If you have to throw out any portion of a Costco package of produce, you lose the cost advantage right then & there.
Thanks for sharing Funny….I have been to Costco and I just didn’t/don’t get it, so thanks for the insight. I guess it’s official…I’m old….and don’t really see the need to have 50 rolls of paper towels in my basement. And the older I get, the more it bothers me to have food go to waste.
I share your satisfaction in having a “paid for home”…I have heard “Pro’s” advise against it BUT I have witnessed folks in their 50’s with large mortgages lose a good paying job….it’s not pretty.
And lastly, I too find it gratifying to be “right” when you go against a “professional’s advice” and it works out. MANY years ago I was interested in buying a certain utility stock and by the luck of the draw got a broker on the phone who actually was a big deal and had his own radio show. He advised me against the purchase for a myriad of reasons but put the transaction thru just the same. Well I have owned this stock right around 40 years….it has since “split”….and based on my purchase price pays a dividend of right around 40%….just crazy….
LOL! The craving to stock up lifetime supplies of Objects That Don’t Spoil springs from my innate laziness. I hate having to buy junk like paper towels, toilet paper, and dishwash detergent every time I turn around! It’s a quirk…hauling that stuff home once a week makes me crabby. I get even MORE crabby when I need a new roll of TP or paper towels only to discover I’m out. Having enough in the garage cabinets to supply my needs all the time is some kinda heaven.
(hmmm… doesn’t take much to keep me happy, does it?)
But in the wastage department, I’ve learned not to buy some things at Costco: never buy lettuce there, unless you run a restaurant. Asparagus is likely to go bad before you can eat a mountain of it. Enough garlic to supply the Gilroy Garlic Festival? Bad idea. These days, if it’s not a) freezable or b) storeable at room temperature or c) something I’m likely to scarf right down, I don’t buy much fresh stuff there.
AND…..happy to hear you’re happy with your decision to hold onto the “Dog Chariot”. It is my understanding your model of vehicle is durable. Add to that, the fact that you seem to be driving less per year and new vehicles are very expensive….and making your car last makes good “cents”.