Little life update

[thistlechaser]

I've found an effective distraction from my worries over my upcoming trip: Dealing with pre-moving stuff. :P

Once my lease expires, I'm going to be moving. (I really, really need to look up when that will be. I believe I have a few months left, but I need to know so I can better plan.) I'm hoping to move somewhere where I'll be paying $1,000 less per month, which will mean I'll no longer be eating into my savings each month. However, with that much cheaper of an apartment, I'm going to lose some "must have" feature. Either AC, an in-unit washer/dryer, or it will not be in the local area. I'm really sad about that.

I'm also falling out of love with this area. I just cannot afford to live here anymore. Even if I get a promotion at work (which might not even happen this year), it doesn't come with hardly any additional money.

Anyway. That's not what I wanted to write about. While moving is stressful, I'm in the "fun" stage of it now. (Or maybe that should be "satisfying".) I'm going through everything I own, seeing what I can throw away or donate. (I thought about eBaying what I could, since I need money, but I think that would be more trouble than it's worth.)

I think sadly I need to get rid of most of my physical books. When I had moved to my current apartment, I donated 90% of my books (three car trunks full) to the library. I have less than one bookcase of them left, all ones not currently available in ebook format, but being honest I'll never read physical books again. There's no use lugging them around. Plus I have a lot of big hardcovers that I was keeping for the art, yet I haven't looked at in 20 years...

That will mean I can get rid of a couple bookcases, and I suspect my outside table as well (at $2,000/month rent, there's no way in hell I'll get a porch/personal outside area, so I'll no longer have need of it).

I'm continuing to struggle with my weight. I decided that having oatmeal for breakfast every day might be part of my issue. Since I try not to eat bread, what am I doing eating some carb-heavy food for breakfast every day? Even if I was adding greek yogurt and a few nut to it for protein. While protein bars are expensive enough to make me sad, I've gone back to having one for breakfast instead.

So, while things aren't all that great right now, once I'm able to move, things should get better money-wise (if not living conditions-wise). And it's good to know that my vacation will be very inexpensive ("free" airline tickets, staying with my mother, and she'll feed me).

Comments

[ashmedai.livejournal.com]

Moving really is stressful, but I admit I love to declutter, so that aspect would be fun for me too. I'd give eBay a whirl, another friend of mine is pretty successful there, and it all adds up.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Is it a LJ friend? If so, I think we're thinking about the same person. Problem is postage. If I sold something for $10, at the very lowest, I'd be spending $5 to ship it (if it were small/flay, like a book), a coat or something would be more. I know eBay sellers usually charge for postage, but man, who would pay $5+ shipping on something that costs $10? changeling72 is in the UK, so I suspect his postage situation is closer to yours, so eBay works better for him. (I know it must work somehow for US eBay sellers, or maybe people are just more willing to pay high postage costs than I think...)

[ashmedai.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, we are talking about the same friend! That makes sense, yeah, I know postage is outrageous overseas, and I think eBay also takes a cut of profits in fees.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it wouldn't surprise me if they did.

For now, I'm just going to hold onto the things I'd sell best (fandom/movie stuff). They should only get more value with time, and I don't mind keeping them if not.

[teaandfailure.livejournal.com]

You can put in your ebay auctions that the buyer pays shipping! That's what I did when I sold the spare Elsa dress and the extras I got when I bought some of the Don't Starve blind box toys.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

*retypes comment because caplock was still on from my LAST COMMENT TO YOU* :P

Hmm, I'll have to look into that, thanks!

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

Sorry about the books. Hope something good works out with a new place!
And, hope things improve for you in general!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I hope so too. Thanks!

[jeane nevarez (from livejournal.com)]

Moving with books is always hard. Eight years ago when I moved across the country I severely culled my collection. I got rid of everything I thought I'd never really read again, and all the books I thought were so popular I'd find another copy easily enough. And guess what, I have since then added most of those books back into my library. Unlike you, I have a hard time letting go of physical copies! My e-reader is really just for travel convenience (so far).

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I still boggle that I moved so many boxes of books (through the mail!) from New York when I first moved to California. Boy was my mailman annoyed, he had to lug a dozen boxes of books up flights of stairs! I was happy to have them though.

I'm glad you were able to get new copies! While I'm pretty sure I won't be able to get new copies of these books (80s fiction and such, long out of print), I just can't read physical books anymore -- my eyes are too bad. Add to that my apartment complex has a silverfish problem (UGH) and those eat paper, I suspect I'm better off getting rid of them. I'd hate to bring the silverfish to the new place. (Though I'm worried I'm kind of doomed about that, as they get into everything. UGH.)

[twissie.livejournal.com]

$2000 a month??? This makes me feel better about my current living situation and apartment hunt! No wonder you've been having to dig into your savings?!
Pre-move planning is fun!!! But I dread executing my plans >_

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I'm currently paying $3,000/month for a one bedroom apartment, so $2,000 would be a big improvement (sad as that sounds).

Good luck to you, too!

[twissie.livejournal.com]

Wowowowow. And I thought prices in Oslo were bad :X $3000 is awfully close to my monthly income, I could never afford rent like that.
One of the reasons we can afford the house we're currently applying for, is because we never upgraded from our tiny one room flat in Oslo. We pay very, very, very little for our current flat in Oslo. Even with the additional monthly expenses that will come (because of the loan) with this new flat, we are still paying less than most people pay to rent flats in Oslo. IT'S BIZARRE! MONEY IS WEIRD!

[teaandfailure.livejournal.com]

Good GOD, California. Why are you so expensive?

I loved California every time I visited there for Hilton, but I have always known I could never live there, growing up in the South (and TN in particular, which has no individual income tax) has totally ruined me.

It's possible that going back to more protein in the morning will kickstart your metabolism. Or maybe just if you got a more fiber-y oatmeal? Quest bars are still a lot of carbs, they're just very few net carbs. Maybe there is an oatmeal that is higher fiber?

I am sorry we do not yet live in a utopian moneyless society like in Star Trek. :(

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Some people say quinoa is a good replacement for oatmeal. I kind of want to try it, but I'm also like OH GOD NO, because some images you see online make it look like it's sprouting.



I DO NOT WANT THINGS GROWING IN MY TUMMY. D:

[teaandfailure.livejournal.com]

I EAT THE HELL OUT OF SOME QUINOA but you know I eat some weird shit and am unfazed. My niece calls it tadpoles. "Aunt Ali has tadpoles and cheese!"

But seriously, it is pretty good, it has a different taste than oatmeal, more like noodles. I use it instead of noodles in mac and cheese.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

A replacement for noodles would ROCK (I miss pasta so much), but the whole tadpole aspect might be more than I can get beyond. I SWEAR TO GOD, I MUST BE FIVE YEARS OLD OR SOMETHING.

I might get a little at a salad bar or something, so I can try it without wasting too much.

[teaandfailure.livejournal.com]

Have you seen the edamame noodles? I like them, and I didn't like those tofu noodles at ALL. They don't get very soft, so they are only a good replacement if you like your pasta al dente, but I have had good luck with them.

http://www.explore-asian.com/products/edamame-spaghetti.html#.VyqhYEdc7Zw

I got mine at CostCo, so they were not as expensive as they are online, damn. I have not tried the fettucine kind, but I probably will eventually. Anyway, 24g of protein per serving in those noodles! Also 21g carbs, but I think only 10 net carbs counting the fiber.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Wow, the stats on those rock! I haven't seen them yet, but I'd be willing to try them.

Those tofu noodles on the other hand... I hear awful things about those, and I'd give those a pass.

[jeane nevarez (from livejournal.com)]

Ha- I just got introduced to quinoa last year and that stuff is cool. I was puzzled the first time I cooked it and the instructions said little spirals would show up on the quinoa when it was done. Little spirals? what?? Never thought they looked like sprouts or tadpoles, but now I 'm always going to have that in mind!

re: silverfish. Those things baffle me. Three, four times I have seen some in my current house. I freaked out and checked ALL the books for damage. Cleaned ALL the shelves. Put out baits. Never caught a silverfish. Didn't see one for half a year. Then I glimpse one again. More freakout over the books. But I bet they're in the bottom of the closet eating all my old drawings and art comps.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

The problem with silverfish is that they can eat anything. Wood, fiber, paper, cloth. So anything in the house can be their food... Plus they run so fast! I try to smush them whenever I see them (as much as I'm 'live and let live' with spiders), but half the time they get away because I have to grab something to kill them with. Hate them so much!

Glad to have another positive vote for quinoa! I'm going to try it soon!

[ani-mama.livejournal.com]

I hope you can find a nice new place! We got rid of a whole bunch of physical books, but we still have so many...even though I have a tablet with both Kindle and nook apps on it, I like the feel of a physical book.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Agreed, I love physical books! Even if I'm not even going to read them, I like seeing them on my shelf.

Thanks, I hope so too! :)

[bacchuslives.livejournal.com]

You mean your current rent is more than $2000 a month? Wow. My mortgage is much less than 2K...

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yep. I pay $3,000 a month in rent for a one bedroom apartment...

It's really rough.

[bacchuslives.livejournal.com]

Does that include utilities? Though I suppose they'd be a drop in the bucket. My brother lives in San Clemente, I thought the cost of living was high there, but it sounds positively crazy wherever you are! And quinoa is very tasty :) I never even thought about the "tails" until I sa it mentioned here!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Nope, sadly. Gas/electric I pay straight to the power company, and water/trash I have to add on to the apartment complex rent each month.

Glad to have another vote on quinoa! I'm going to give it a try soon.