I really would like to actually check my bank balance and, say pay a utility bill, but Chase is making that really hard. The damn Chase.com website is down, and has been down for 2 days. I call customer service, and they can't help me pay a bill. They also won't say what's wrong or when the site will be back up. Ugh ( Read more... )

The beach to the unswimable ocean is a gorgeous wide length of soft white sand, framed with palm trees, heavy with coconuts, and lush tropical plants with wide waxy green leaves. Behind that line is a mangrove forest and then the mountains of the Daintree rainforest, the oldest in the world. Mangrove forests are something out of a dream or a ( Read more... )

The air is so still here. Seeing a leaf sway in the breeze is a welcome distraction. Everything is meant to be still. Lay on the beach. Float in the ocean. Sit. Chill. Drink beer. People wear minimal clothing because every bit sticks to the skin. And this is winter. Well, maybe not winter. Maybe fall. I’m dying here. Sweating with every ( Read more... )

Finished reading the Girl Genius online comic. It was good. Oh great LJ-verse, any recommendations for twisted / humorous / steam punk / magic stories a'la Girl Genius? (pictures optional)

Does anyone have a good source for tax return information? I've relied upon Turbo Tax for the past ~5 years, but this year they raised their rates and added a'la carte fees, bringing the cost to over $100. H&R Block's TaxCut does have a lower initial cost, but with the add-ons and slightly lower quality, comes out the same in the end. So, this ( Read more... )

just finished Chalice by Robin McKinley. I've been a fan of her work since middle school, with her dream-like and yet enveloping prose and story tale settings. The Hero and The Crown has been a favorite for years, and I was looking forward to her latest work. However, I was greatly disappointed with Chalice. Somewhere in the middle of it I ( Read more... )

A blizzard in NYC is a lot slushier and a lot less pretty than I would have imagined.

Gizmo has flecks of dried blood in the fur around her neck. At least I think it's blood. I only saw it after pulling her out of the corner of the closet. Widget (the kitten) and Gizmo (the 6 year old cat) frequently become a tumbling ball of fighting fury. It's how cats play. Widget, at 5 months old and 4.5 lbs has definitely become the ( Read more... )

Financial goals for 2009:
1) Save 3 months of base living expenses (rent, utilities, food, etc. not student loans)
2) Eliminate all credit card debt
3) Max out retirement savings accounts (especially ones that can be leverage to buy a first home)

Right now, savings seems just a bit more important than debt reduction.

I'm working from home today to finish a project, but having a very hard concentrating, in part because I feel like I have the whole day to work on it and I'm procrastinating. Right now small things, like my EpiPen are fascinating. After ending up in the hospital in October for a severe allergic reaction to escargot, I have to have one handy at ( Read more... )