Apologies in advance for the super long entry, I've been busy preparing for my interview last Friday, and then going on frugal outings (walking in the park by our apt and going to Canal Days in Fairport--including a rubber duck race!).
Pantry challenge is going well--which is good, since DH has had some social engagements (advisor-related and networking) that he spent some money at (but he kept it to drinks, not dinners!). Anyhow, this week I spent $20 on produce, coffee, bagels and stuff for DH's lunches (sandwich bread, pretzels, strawberry jam). That should last us thru Friday--when we have out-of-town guests coming in (DH's friend and his gf) neither of whom I am a huge fan of...ugh. But I'll play the good hostess. And then vent my face off to my mom. lol.
DH's friends want us to show them around here and take them to Niagara Falls (1.5-2 hours away). We'll be dipping into our travel savings for this...knowing his friends, they will likely expect us to pay for everything (even though they basically invited themselves to our place. Didn't ask. Just sent dates they were going to be staying with us). Before we moved to NY, they wanted to come and visit our place--I planned dinner and everything, then a couple hours before they came they called and said there was this place in the area they really wanted to try and asked if we'd be up for going out instead of staying in. We said yes, then when we got the bill, DH put in $110 and handed it to his friend, who refused to pay, saying that they had come to visit US and had not expected to pay. Ugh. It was like $200 before tip (and his gf's drinks alone were like $50 of that). If we had invited them out, or even chosen this place, I would not have had a problem paying the whole bill--but they're the ones who wanted to go out! Double ugh. In any case, I told DH to let his friend know in no uncertain terms that we would NOT be paying for all their expenses (they want to do boat outing, private tour, fancy dinner, etc. etc.). I'm SO not looking forward having these people in my apartment Friday-Monday...but this guy is one of DH's favorite college friends...so I'll get over it. I should really try to get a more positive attitude about it. Breathe.....
Anyway, in relation to the job search: I got an email from the director of the foundation last Wednesday requesting an in-person interview. I chose the earliest available time (Friday morning) and so spent the next 40 hours prepping. I think the interview went well--but I really have no idea about what the other people applying for the job are like or what their qualifications are. I'll know mid-this-week if I'm getting called back for the third (supposedly final) interview round. There are an awful number of hoops to jump through in this process of applying for a part-time job that I don't even know the hourly pay for. Sigh.
Since I started the process of applying for this job, I haven't been looking into other job possibilities since I'm really hoping for this one. But at this point, 3+ weeks in, I'm wondering why I didn't start looking for a backup. Ugh. I'm going to start looking again, once I plan out what we're going to do with the...lovely people...coming to visit Fri-Mon.
Loooong entry...recent/upcoming goings on
June 8th, 2015 at 05:09 pm
June 8th, 2015 at 05:59 pm 1433786380
We bade adieu to S Korean colleagues after 4 days but were surprised when they asked to return after 4 days in their next city. There was a lot more difficulty with English than I expected. We overcame the 'who should pay,' by explaining their share of cost before departing for any venue. For two historic parks I drove to the gate explained the ticket procedure again giving them a brochure printed in Korean with a post-it note for park Hosts to call me for pick-up. They wanted to go on a trail ride but the weather didn't co operate until 2nd visit. I gave them the English language brochure [lots of pictures] and taped my cell number on the back.
I or DH were able to park in a nearby-by WIFI zone and take work and reading material for wait time
June 8th, 2015 at 06:24 pm 1433787846
June 9th, 2015 at 12:55 am 1433811329
June 9th, 2015 at 12:21 pm 1433852467
June 10th, 2015 at 05:56 pm 1433958960
Oh, and LivingAlmostLarge, I totally feel you. My inlaws are the same! Right before our wedding they asked for a loan (only the latest of a number of them....) for $2,500 to help get debt under control. Since then they've gone right back to the same level of debt as before (9k+) and used all of the 2k they got back from taxes to plan a VACATION. Omg. They're over the maximum on several cards...
Sigh. We'll see what DH's friend responds. I'll update after the weekend...I don't care how awkward it is, I'm just sick of feeling like these friends are always taking advantage of us.