Sassy Black Friend

Just call me research Sally

Not really. And I don’t know why I picked “Sally,” it just worked in my mind. Anyway, as I’ve mentioned before, research is a huge part of my work, so people are constantly asking me to look into things for them. Neighbor wants information on progesterone side effect numbers. Little Mama needs a wide range of pregnancy facts. Dad asks for stuff about one of his eight hundred hobbies.

The thing is, I almost always say yes. I can find what they need much faster because I know where to look, and when it’s for someone close to me, I know what’s going to be helpful and what won’t. The boyfriend says I shouldn’t do it so often, but I really don’t mind, and sometimes I get to learn interesting things that might be useful for me eventually.

Still trying

Calling all everyone. I’m still trying to help my friend out with his job search, so if you have a line on any sales jobs, please send them my way.

In other news, summer vacation plans are coming together and it looks like we’re going to be very busy.

Also, J is writing a book and I’m lobbying to get her to dedicate it to me. Please offer support, bribes, whatever you have that might help.

Side Projects

This weekend I helped Little Mama (nee Little Sister) with a new project she’s starting. Her pregnancy is making her very tired, so she’s been taking a lot of time off work already. I told her she needed a hobby to take her mind off things, something she can do in small or larger bursts of time.

So, the darling thing is making jewelery. She’s always been kind of crafty and this is an easy, cheap way to keep herself entertained. Plus, cute stuff for her friends and family (me). We bought a million cool Beads and chains and some other clamp/tweezer things that I have no idea about.

If you can do it, this is a wonderful way to get the perfect item for a reasonable price. No more wishing the chain was a little different or the pendant was slightly larger. Just make it the way you want it. And then discover Etsy.

Big big bill

Today I got a huge bill in the mail. It’s from the hospital for my visit after the “minor” car accident last month. Now, being self-employed is great most of the time. One big exception is health insurance. I have to pay for individual coverage which costs a ton. Especially as a woman of child-bearing age.

I won’t get into specifics, but let’s just say it costs almost as much as my rent at my old apartment and leave it at that. Since I’m not quite old enough for a good cheap Medicare plan, I just have to suck it up and pay.

Today’s pain is caused by my deductible. The amount I have to pay out of pocket each year before my insurance will cover things. At least it’s early this year. in 2010 I didn’t meet my deductible until November.

Need more bandwidth

I think I wrote something already about Little Mama (formerly known as Little Sister) and her husband. He got laid off. The job search continues, but right now he’s looking at schools for an online business degree.

I think it’s a great idea. They don’t really have any debt, so there’s no problem assuming some loans to finance his education. And, since he’ll be able to have a flexible schedule, they’ll have a lot more options once the baby is born.

Then he’ll be set up well for an even better job in a couple of years. Something to consider for folks who are unemployed or underemployed.

Useful and helpful

Checking out some information on people and what diet supplements they use has proved to be useful and helpful. Useful for work, because I can help my clients craft language and reports that their customers actually want to read. Helpful because the boyfriend is experimenting with some right now and it’s good to be able to give him some places to start.

It’s hard to remember life before the internet, isn’t it? When we had to rely on only people we know and advertisements to decide what products to try out.