Goodbye Magic Card…I’ll miss you!

The one good thing in this economy is the price of gas won’t cost you an arm and a leg anymore. I mean, it is under $2.00/gallon! I think this is something we should celebrate folks! Just a few months ago it was $4and even $5/gallon in some places. I know I am super pumped about this.

Up until I made my 30 Before 30 List I didn’t really care too much about the price of gas. Sure I would complain about it with everyone else and I thought it was outrageous, but for as long as I have been purchasing gas, I have paid for it with a little piece of plastic that I like to call “The Magic Card”.

The Magic Card is of course a credit card with my name on it, but the bill goes to my mom. I was given the card in high school and I have been responsible enough to keep it in my possession all these years. Back in college there were a lot more things on the list of approved items to be purchased with the Magic Card. Today there remains only one: gas.

I have no idea how I kept gas on the approved list or why. It is just something I was never used to paying. Ironically, the only other thing my mom pays for is my car insurance, so I guess she just really wants me to have a way to get around?

Anyway, the other day I did something I never have done before. I paid for my own gas! It was a conscious decision and I really didn’t want to do it because I love the Magic Card and I didn’t want to put it away forever. We’ve had such a long relationship together. But the time has come. I need to stop pretending my tank just magically stays filled without depleting my bank account.

It feels good. Scary. But good.

Now the only thing I have to do to mark #5 off my list is to take over my car insurance payments in June!

Twitter what?

Do you "Tweet"? If so, I don't mean to be rude, but what is the big freaking deal about Twitter?

I signed up for Twitter a long time ago because I am in marketing and Twitter was to be the next big thing in social media so I wanted to figure it out.

I have some followers and some people are following me, but I just don’t get it yet.

I cannot get into it at all. Is there something wrong with me? I just don't get it. Why is it helpful? What do you use it for?

I like reading people’s status updates on Facebook, but I don’t want to have to go around to 5 million different sites to see what my peeps are up to.

And there are so many “tweets” sometimes I don’t see how anyone can keep up!

Do YOU use Twitter? If so do you love it? Hate it? Ignore it? Obsessed with it?

Someone please help me see the Twitter light…

Also, I think there is some way to use Twitter to update my Myspace and Facebook status all at the same time, but I can’t figure it out.

Help? Anyone??

If you want to follow me I’m ncsuz.

If you’re not on there, sign up, follow me, figure it out, and then let me know what the big deal is.

KTHNXBAI!

oh and go check out my review of The Shack on my Bookshelf Blog!

Faith and Dating

I read earlier this week that “Faith is the belief in something that you cannot prove.” I thought that described it very well. Since faith is something no one has a definite answer to, there are a lot of opinions out there. So, the question is could two people of different or even opposite faiths create a life together?

In my opinion, I think it is possible. Would I want to do it? Probably not. Only because I think what you believe of the world and life affect you so deeply. That is why people are so passionate about religion and politics. While it is possible to respect other opinions, it gets complicated when two lives become one and even more so when children are involved. I think it is possible to make it work, but it would not be easy.

I also think that faith is a very personal thing. It might even be possible that no two look exactly alike. One Christian may not have the exact same feelings or beliefs about their faith as another one. One atheist may not see the world exactly the same as another. So even if you do have the same religion or faith, there would still be compromise and respect of differing opinions involved.

For me the real point of contention would be what happens after this life. For me, faith is almost a matter of life and death. I am a Christian and I believe the only way to God (or heaven) is through Jesus. If someone I married did not believe that, it would tear me apart to think what would happen to them after they died. I'm a romantic and to think of not spending eternity with them would kill me. (let's see if I am still saying that after I'm married!) Anyway, that thought might lead to desperation to change their beliefs which would not be good for either of us because I can’t “save” anyone. I think relationships with God (or the lack thereof if that is what you believe) are very personal and the only one that can change that is you or Him.

For me, I would be open to dating someone of another faith because it is not sharing a life, just sharing time together. I think spending time with people of differing opinions widens your view and makes you think. I am always open to that. But when it comes to marriage, I think I would have to marry a Christian. Marriage is more than just sharing time or space. It is a life together and possibly creating new little lives. Even if I wasn’t always on the same page as my future husband, I would at least want to be in the same book!

These thoughts were spurred because I read the most interesting posts from SO@24 at Starting Over at 24 and Emmeline at Harmful if Swallowed about dating/marriage and religion. And almost more interesting than the posts were the comments. You should check them out.

Sleepless Nights

Dear Sleep-

I miss you so much. More than you can even imagine. I have tried everything to bring us together more often. I have consulted professionals about what could be keeping us apart, but nothing I try makes you come back to me.

You do visit me in the wee hours of the morning, but by then we have barely any time to spend together. I don’t want to be some late night booty call to you. I want to have a deep, meaningful and functional relationship with you.

I’m just not myself when you are not a big part of my life. I am cranky and irritated all day. I get headaches and have trouble concentrating. I can’t function without you.

Please let me know what we can do to work this out. I love you. You complete me. I don’t think I can live without you!

Groggily Yours,
Susan

P.S. Is this because of all the time I have been spending with Edward?

Terrified of Tithing

I am so scared to post this, but I am willing to bet there are other people who have felt this way too. I have a confession: Tithing scares the crap out of me.

First let me just paint my money picture for you. I am young and low on the totem pole as far as salaries go. But I am much better off than I was when I graduated college 6 years ago (wow…I just realized how long it has taken me to get here…and how long it’s been…I really am getting old). But as you can tell from #5 on my list, I still get help from mom (she pays for my car insurance…and gas). I still practically live paycheck to paycheck. I don’t have Suze Orman’s recommended 3-9 month’s worth of living expenses in savings. In fact I don’t save much at all. I just started contributing a measly 4% to my 401K.

But lately I have felt this pull in my heart on the tithing issue. It is similar to the one I felt on the baptism issue. I was so convinced that my baptism as a baby counted and this church was just trying to force their traditions on me…until I felt this shift in my heart and I heard the truth. It was just that I was embarrassed of getting dunked in a tank of water…which kind of meant that I was embarrassed of God. I was fine sitting in a sea of people singing His praise but I didn’t want to stand up in front of everyone and say it. That pull on my heart was so strong it trumped the embarrassment factor…in fact it almost made me feel silly about it.

I am feeling that same pull now on my heart. I want to give 10% but then I realized how much money that was and now I am scared. That is more than my car payment! More than any other bill I have except my mortgage! And just like that...POOF! I am going to live without that money? What about #5 on my list? I don’t want to keep depending on my mom to help support me financially.

I guess I could cut out something? Like my little mini-vacations…but I might loose my mind if I have no fun. I already cut out a lot. I don’t get pedicures or manicures. I haven’t had my hair cut since July. I rarely buy new clothes or shoes. Cam doesn’t get doggie daycare anymore. I try to save money where I can.

And then there is the whole economy thing. I have never been more scared of loosing my job and not being able to find another one in my life. What would I do?

Do all Christians believe in tithing? I don’t remember my parents tithing. I remember putting money in the offering plate, but it was just on offering, not a tithe. I have heard discussions on how every law in the Bible is not applicable today…that you can’t take the Bible literally. That you should just follow the New Testament and “give generously” but not necessarily 10%. I am trying to do research for myself on what it actually says, but more so I want to listen to my heart, because that is where God speaks to me the most.

I want to trust that God will provide for me, but where is that line between trusting and being personally responsible for myself? I did put my full 10% in the envelope last week, but I don’t know if I can do it again. It’s just so much! Some people have suggested easing into it and giving what I think I can handle right now. But how am I supposed to determine what I can handle? If that were left up to me, I would just give whatever I had left over at the end of the month after all the bills were taken care of and I felt “safe”. And I think that would be missing the point wouldn’t it?

Anyway, I am praying about this issue right now. I hate money. Believe me it is not the “idol” I struggle with. Seriously, I would rather just not think about money at all. I just wanted to put this out there because I know I can’t be the only one who struggles with this.

Case of the Mondays?

Today could possibly be the most likely day for people around the country to find themselves with a “case of the Mondays”. The Holidays are over and it is back to the grind. After enjoying that long 2 week break, it will likely be a REALLY long time before we escape cubicle life again. My next company holiday isn’t until Memorial Day. That’s 5 long months of straight work to look forward to.

I could have been dreading this day. I could have been cursing the return to work and slaving my life away for “the man”. I could have been slamming things around in my cube all morning out of frustration. I could have spent this whole post complaining about the absurdity of office life.

But this year I am not complaining. I am happy to sitting back in my little cube under the florescent lights. I like hearing the ding of the elevator and the steady hum of the printer and the clicking of keys and mouse buttons everywhere. I am happy and feel very lucky to have a job.

Usually Sundays at my house are spent lounging around watching TV or running errands and dreading the return to work the next day. I usually stay up late thinking about how much I am going to hate having to make it through the next week and how I didn’t accomplish anything around the house during my short two day break.

But last night I felt good. I had accomplished a lot around the house. I put all my laundry away and cleaned my bathroom and felt good about the return to my normal routine. I went to bed at a decent hour and even had time to stop for coffee on my way to work.

So far it is a good start to the New Year, and nothing has really changed, except my perspective. So if you are finding yourself with a case of the Mondays today, just be glad you have a job and cross your fingers you can keep it. It’s predicted to get worse in 2009, so buckle up and smile because it’s going to be a bumpy ride. And yeah- #3 on my list- “Find a job I love”, right now I love just having a job period.

Out with the Old...In with the New

Happy New Year everyone! Personally, I am kind of glad to see 2008 go. It wasn't the worst year ever, but it certainly wasn't the best either. So I am welcoming 2009 with open arms!

I must say I hate New Year's Eve though. I can't think of one New Year's Eve that I have really loved. Most just turn out to be OK. Lots of my New Year's memories have drama around them. I can't remember a great New Year's kiss...ever. The times I remember being with a guy on New Years seem to always have involved some drama or let down. Sometimes I don't know why I even bother with that holiday. This year was no different. I went over to a party. Hung out with most of my wonderful friends. Played some Rock Band. Talked about Twilight with other obsessed fans. Had some food and drinks and watched the ball drop and everyone kiss. The year I have a great New Years Eve will be the year I know I've made it. If it doesn't happen soon, I may start boycotting this holiday.

One thing I am not looking forward to in 2009 that I am REALLY REALLY going to miss is a big vacation. For the past two years a big group of us has taken a week long cruise. The one in 2007 was filled with lots of drama but also wonderful! And I blogged about last year's Cruise 2K8 which was even more wonderful. The cruise was always something to look forward to and plan for and motivation for working out. But I am tired of cruising and we are all too broke to afford a big vacation this year. This makes me so sad.

In fact I was looking for a calendar for work and I didn't even get one because I usually have a beach themed one to look at and envision myself on when I am having a bad day, but this year I thought it would just be a reminder of the vacation I am NOT taking!

But I will try to plan lots of mini-get-a-ways this year. I already have a long weekend ski/snowboard trip planned for February and I'm trying to organize a long weekend DC trip for April. I'll take a long weekend at our timeshare at Atlantic Beach in August. And hopefully some more mini-trips will come up too!

I'm also looking forward to getting back to my regular routine. This 2 weeks of vacation has been nice, but it has seriously thrown off my schedule. And there has been nothing on TV! The History channel and HGTV have been the only things worth watching and I miss my regular shows. I find when my schedule gets thrown off I get lazy and do a bunch of nothing and I don't like that. So if I ever find myself with 2 weeks off again, I am going to plan a vacation to avoid doing a bunch of nothing, because doing nothing is so boring.

As far as resolutions, my main one is to work on marking things off my list. I have a few others, but they aren't things like "starting today no more ____." They are more of things that I want to work on throughout the year or accomplish by the end of the year. Hopefully this will be a great year!