tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30684384078601725492024-02-07T09:33:35.931-08:00just living in the cityJanellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312639812455113707noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3068438407860172549.post-65276209141139301842013-11-10T07:08:00.002-08:002013-11-10T07:08:28.373-08:00A GOOD review of Care CreditI have a Care Credit card. That seems like something you'd admit at some sort of recovering addicts meeting, but it shouldn't be that way. Before I used my Care Credit card for the first time, I googled it, like you do, and basically saw ONLY negative reviews. I thought... geez. Do I really want to get mixed up in all this? But the common theme in all the reviews was that people didn't pay off the card before the interest hit. I knew I was going to be able to do that, so I used the card with ease. Here, let me start from the beginning...<br />
<br />
I had a toothache. I was recently married (though I hadn't yet changed my name) and preparing to move 2000 miles away from home in a month, so I figured I should get it taken care of ASAP. I went to my regular dentist and he said, "I think it's cracked." (Not "It's cracked." Just, "I think it's cracked.") They said I'd need some kind of procedure that would cost over $500, and I told them I didn't that kind of money (my regular credit card, with an embarrassingly low credit limit, was maxed out from the wedding - soon to be paid off!, but still maxed out). My dentist directed me to the Care Credit card. He didn't call it that - he just told me I could apply for a healthcare line of credit.<br />
<br />
So I did.<br />
<br />
And shockingly, I was approved, for $3500 (this is more than 3x the limit on my regular credit card, by the way). I thought that was pretty cool. So, card in hand, I went back to my dentist to get my possibly-cracked tooth taken care of.<br />
<br />
Except... when they did the "cracked tooth test" to confirm, it didn't hurt any more. Turns out, I just had an overly sensitive tooth that day. So, no procedure.<br />
<br />
So, oh well. Now I had fine teeth and a $3500 healthcare credit card (aka Care Credit, I now knew).<br />
<br />
Fast forward 10 months... my husband and I moved 2000 miles to NYC and lived life. We were both insured through the military, since he's in the National Guard, and didn't have too much to worry about, healthcare-wise. We have a regular doctor, I have an optometrist (and the worst eyes ever), and we have a dentist out in Brooklyn. She told my husband he needed his wisdom teeth out, ASAP. This made sense because A. he's 29 and still has them and B. he's a musician and has never had a 'good time' to take them out. Now seemed like the perfect time since he was working a non-music job and his Juilliard audition was still 8 months away. PLENTY of time to recover. So, we went to an oral surgeon in Midtown to schedule his surgery.<br />
<br />
Even with insurance, it was going to cost $650.<br />
<br />
Ugh.<br />
<br />
We did not have that much extra cash lying around, and again, that's nearly the entire limit on my regular credit card, and we didn't want to max it out. What were we to do?<br />
<br />
Enter: Care Credit<br />
<br />
The surgeon mentioned that they take Care Credit. We were making enough at the time to pay about $200/month. So, as boring as it sounds, we paid for the procedure with my Care Credit card. Then, we paid it off in 3 months, though we had 6 months to do so before the ridiculous headache of interest would hit the account. Is that really all it takes to warrant a good review of this credit card? I think so.<br />
<br />
I should add - I spent about 15 minutes on the phone with their customer service two days before my husband's surgery.<br />
<br />
THEY WERE GREAT.<br />
<br />
In those 15 minutes, I confirmed I was able to use my card (since I hadn't ever used it, I was worried), I added my husband as an authorized user, I ordered my husband his own card for the same account, I ordered a new card for myself with my married name (since I still had my maiden name when I applied for the first one), and I updated my mailing address (I hadn't bothered to do so when we moved since I hadn't used the account). The person on the phone was incredibly helpful with this laundry list of tasks and took care of everything. The card usage was uneventful and the new cards arrived shortly thereafter.<br />
<br />
So - Care Credit? Have no fear. Find out how much time you have before the interest will hit the account (usually 6, 12, or 18 months, depending on the cost of your medical procedure) and then pay off the account before that time hits. It's really that simple. Don't be stupid with credit cards, and don't give them bad reviews just because you didn't follow the rules. You should have known the rules before you started playing the game.Janellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312639812455113707noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3068438407860172549.post-14867375692858490982013-11-10T06:47:00.001-08:002013-11-10T06:47:19.580-08:00My Second Great Experience with Fresh DirectIf you've followed my culinary adventures since this summer, you might be happy to know that my <a href="http://accountabletome.blogspot.com/2013/08/meal-planning-take-one.html" target="_blank">meal planning</a> did catch on and I've kept up with it very well, trying new recipes each week and keeping our <a href="http://accountabletome.blogspot.com/2013/03/cost-of-grocery-food-in-nyc.html" target="_blank">grocery shopping</a> at/around $70/week, which is pretty good for all meals for 2 people in NYC every week.<br />
<br />
Usually, I teach recorder on the weekends to a student on the UWS, and after our lesson, I meet up with my husband and we travel to Garden of Eden and Westside Market to do our weekly grocery shopping. If we need some staples, I might stop by Trader Joe's and/or Food Town on Monday to pick them up. That's our system, and it's been working great... until this week.<br />
<br />
This week, my recorder student is on vacation in Morocco AND my husband is away with the NY National Guard. I've tried doing the shopping on my own, but it's so heavy! My tiny arms can't carry it all. If I split the shopping by stores, it just takes soooo long to do.<br />
<br />
What's a girl to do?<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Why hello, <a href="http://accountabletome.blogspot.com/2013/08/what-is-fresh-direct.html" target="_blank">Fresh Direct</a>.<br />
<br />
I had a coupon to use, plus a credit, plus they're offering free delivery right now, so it was like the stars were aligning, telling me to have my groceries delivered. PLUS, we're nearly out of toilet paper and paper towels, and those items are so bulky - it sucks to have to buy them along with regular groceries, and it sucks to get them on a trip all by themselves.<br />
<br />
This was another AWESOME experience with FD - I placed my order on Friday evening and received it at 9AM on Sunday (my delivery slot was 8AM-10AM). My produce look and smell great, and my meats have gone straight into the freezer. Last time, I mostly ordered meats. This time, it was a mix of our regular, every-week grocery items and a few big-ticket meats.<br />
<br />
Here's the receipt, subbing for most of our weekly shopping this week:<br />
<br />
From the deli:<br />
Boar's Head EverRoast Chicken Breast deli meat, 0.27lbs@$6.99/lbs (on sale): $1.89<br />
FD Monterey Jack cheese (sliced), 1.74lbs@$5.99/lbs (on sale): $10.42<br />
FD Premium Lite Buffalo Turkey deli meat, 0.30lbs@$6.99/lbs (on sale): $2.10<br />
FD Smoked Off The Bone Ham deli meat, 0.27lbs@$6.99/lbs (on sale): $1.89<br />
FD Smoked Pepper Turkey deli meat, 0.29lbs@$6.99/lbs (on sale): $2.03<br />
<br />
(We usually buy about 0.75lbs of meat and 1.0lbs of cheese for sandwiches each week. Westside Market has by far the best prices on deli meats, averaging $6.99-$8.99 per pound for each of their in-house-made meats. FD had a sale on several different meats, so we didn't have to spend any extra to get these than we usually do on deli meats, and we got quite a sampling, so we'll know if they're any good for future reference. We have leftover bread from last week, bought mid-week, and plenty of mayo and horseradish-mustard for toppings.)<br />
<br />
Fruits:<br />
Red Jacket Orchards Fuji Apples, two 3.0lbs bags@$2.99/bag: $5.98<br />
<br />
(We buy hand fruits each week to take with deli sandwich lunches. We usually buy whatever apples are on sale that week from Garden of Eden. These apples are at a lower price than we pay at Garden of Eden (usually $1.25 per pound) and someone else carried them up the stairs, so I bought two bags. Plus, I know they're local.)<br />
<br />
Grocery:<br />
Annie's Naturals Balsamic Vinaigrette salad dressing (on sale): $2.99<br />
Bounty Paper Towels, 2-pack ($0.25 off): $4.74<br />
Honest Tea Half & Half Tea with Lemonade, 59oz: FREE!<br />
Seventh Generation 12-roll toilet paper: $9.99<br />
Skippy Super Chunk Peanut Butter, 28oz: $6.59<br />
<br />
(We get salad dressing about twice a month, rotating different flavors - got this one because it was on sale. The Honest Tea was free!! - a giveaway for some reason. I've been wanting to try the Seventh Generation toilet paper; I use their cleaners and I like them, and I like their philosophy. Also needed peanut butter - we usually get JIF. I hope Skippy measures up.)<br />
<br />
From the butcher:<br />
Boneless Chicken Tenders, 10-12 piece pack, 2.90lbs@$3.99/lbs (on sale): $11.57<br />
Rib Lamb Chops (frenched and vacuum packed), 1.02lbs@$19.99/lbs: $21.39<br />
Rib Eye Steaks (1.5" think, local angus, no antibiotics, vacuum packed), 2.5lbs@$15.99/lbs: $39.98<br />
<br />
(The tenders were on sale for the same price as whole breasts, so I went ahead and got the cut-up stuff. The chops... well, they're the most amazing meat known to man, so even though they are ridiculously expensive, they are amazing. The local, no-antibiotic rib eyes were on sale for the same price as the regular ones, so I opted for the "better" meat. I am really looking forward to eating all this meat! Our freezer was recently emptied of all the previous FD meat, so it feels good to start restocking.)<br />
<br />
Vegetables:<br />
Celery, 1 bunch: $1.99<br />
Zucchini (one), 0.49lbs@$1.49lbs: $0.73<br />
Russet potatoes, 5lbs bag: $3.99<br />
Spanish onions (four), 3.08lbs@$0.69/lbs: $2.13<br />
Yellow zucchini (two), 1.18lbs@$1.49/lbs: $1.76<br />
<br />
(We usually get all this stuff from Garden of Eden, but we don't usually get potatoes and onions in such high quantity. However, since their prices were AWESOME and someone else was carrying up the steps, I didn't mind buying in bulk produce that does not quickly spoil.)<br />
<br />
So - not only does this give us some awesome meats to pick from, but it takes care of most of my weekly grocery shopping as well. I still need to drop by GoE for salad fixins (lettuce, tomatoes, carrots - the FD prices were just too high to justify, knowing the prices so well at GoE) and maybe oranges or plums. I plan to get a block cheese on sale at WSM (they usually have cheddar on sale for $4.99/lbs, which is great), and then some basics and cheap meat at Trader Joe's ($2.99 ground beef can't be beat; we also need ground turkey, tortilla chips, soup, and cereal). I may pick up some staples at Food Town this week, too - we're out of butter, sugar, and tortillas. This is an odd week where we've run out of several staples at once, so it was nice to have someone else deliver the bulk of the groceries for us. Plus, we're leaving for Texas in a couple weeks, so I can't buy too much produce, or we'll end up leaving it to go bad. I hope this helps someone else's Fresh Direct experience and grocery shopping planning!Janellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312639812455113707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3068438407860172549.post-80435942732435706702013-11-10T06:12:00.002-08:002013-11-10T06:13:40.300-08:00My Praise of Trader Joe's Items: Petite Cocoa Batons and Potato ChipsWe've started shopping at Trader Joe's more lately, mostly for inexpensive dry goods like peanut butter, spices, cereal, tortilla chips, etc. I also pick up meat and produce there, occasionally - I guess it just depends on what we need that week and if I'm in the neighborhood. This has led to trying more and more new products, especially semi-specialty products that can only be found at Trader Joe's. I've heard their Cookie Butter is amazing, but it's not really up my alley. However, I've found 2 products that I can't even bring myself to buy anymore because they can't survive in my house. (Of course, we continue to buy them... now they're used for training our self-control)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Product Number One: Petite Cocoa Batons<br />
I was shopping for a semi-homemade picnic - I just needed some dessert. Now, the picnic was just for me and my husband, and we can be classic over-eaters, so I wanted to get something that, if we ate the whole thing, it would not be a diet destroyer. At the same time, I didn't want to get just a chocolate bar or something boring - and in particular, I didn't want to get something that could melt, either, since it is August in NYC and quite sticky most days.<br />
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Solution, after 15+ minutes of searching(/wandering) the store:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-fBqqw1ln7ZX_ebkbC2exXOYbJVLwokE1M0o-woMjgmW4Ab8NgkM7kI6_4NsijIL5lNI9aB5CyXrFOamQLfxTBpB9Qdrg1mWLjKojYzg2dc6kg6Sj4cm76U7aJ9wCfZsNp_IrhadOgd42/s1600/petite+cocoa+batons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-fBqqw1ln7ZX_ebkbC2exXOYbJVLwokE1M0o-woMjgmW4Ab8NgkM7kI6_4NsijIL5lNI9aB5CyXrFOamQLfxTBpB9Qdrg1mWLjKojYzg2dc6kg6Sj4cm76U7aJ9wCfZsNp_IrhadOgd42/s320/petite+cocoa+batons.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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(<a href="http://www.sandiegosugar.com/2011/grocery-goods-trader-joes-petite-cocoa-batons/" target="_blank">picture source</a>)</div>
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After doing a petite bit of research about them, I've found that these can be a controversial item because:</div>
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1. They are <i>tres petit</i>. </div>
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2. They're not that sweet.</div>
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3. There are only 4 servings per box, at 17 pieces per serving.</div>
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In my experience, they were AMAZING because:</div>
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1. There are only 4 servings per box, at 17 pieces per serving. 2 people can TOTES pig out and not feel all that guilty afterward. It's still less calories/sugar/fat than a milkshake or 2 handfuls of regular cookies.</div>
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2. They are <i>tres petit </i>- the perfect end to a picnic of tortilla chips with bean dip and salsa, and fresh fruit. You can go easily between nibbling watermelon, to nibbling chips, to nibbling these little niblets.</div>
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Product Number Two: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZheD5anpaOvTa6CVgEI7qgLSrW3CoDVFZB2rBGu5gFoXuCNTW_ByzwCtkapEG5KNaPBHu4S7JLirQwvUAoap47iUKoAPP8lMOPHeNlSjojhtmq41lChXAtF7KaSrlvCP3hObRX-qpnNHd/s1600/tj+chips.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZheD5anpaOvTa6CVgEI7qgLSrW3CoDVFZB2rBGu5gFoXuCNTW_ByzwCtkapEG5KNaPBHu4S7JLirQwvUAoap47iUKoAPP8lMOPHeNlSjojhtmq41lChXAtF7KaSrlvCP3hObRX-qpnNHd/s320/tj+chips.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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(<a href="http://junkfoodcritic.wordpress.com/2012/12/07/trader-joe-ridge-cut-chips/" target="_blank">picture source</a>)</div>
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These chips probably need little explanation, but I love to talk, so... these are AMAZING. Very tasty, super crunchy, and addictive. We've bought them for lunch in the past and have to sort them out into tiny one-serving bags to prevent ourselves from eating the entire bag in one sitting. They are one of my favorite foods. Buy with caution!!</div>
<br />Janellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312639812455113707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3068438407860172549.post-38843582656587535252013-08-20T08:07:00.003-07:002013-08-20T08:07:45.127-07:00What is the price of fresh produce at a grocery store in NYC?I've posted before about my new BFF grocery store, Garden of Eden. I LOVE it. I always get a new cashier that can't see the differences between a zucchini and a cucumber, but the produce is so beautiful and abundant, even silly people can't stop me from coming back. And now that I know they offer a 10% STUDENT DISCOUNT!!, I feel less guilty about the (occasionally) high-ish prices. My local grocery store, FoodTown, has atrocious produce - it doesn't taste good, it doesn't look pretty, and there isn't much of it from which to choose. For that reason, I have 3 times now made a weekly trek down to 107th and Broadway to get fresh fruits and veggies from Garden of Eden (my recorder students lives at 103rd and Central Park West, so I'm somewhat in the 'hood once a week anyway), and I will continue to do so as long as I live in this neighborhood and it is the best option for me and my husband.<br />
<br />
(Get to the prices already!) So, here's what we paid on our most recent trip:<br />
<br />
3 yellow onions: 1.92lbs@$0.79/lb = $1.36<br />
(way too many) baby red potatoes: 3.25lbs@$1.99/lb = $5.82<br />
8 plum tomatoes: 1.98lbs@$1.49/lb = $2.65<br />
1 lb bag of peeled baby carrots: $1.61 each<br />
4 plums/pluots: 1.28lbs@$1.69/lb = $1.94<br />
3 peaches: 1.4lbs@$1.49lb = $2.09<br />
3 black plums: 0.93lbs@$1.49/lb = $1.25<br />
4 loose carrots: 1.64lbs@$0.89/lb = $1.31<br />
2 zucchini: 0.94lbs@$1.99/lb = $1.68<br />
2 yellow squash: 1.11lbs@$1.00/lb = $1.98<br />
3 romaine hearts, pre-packed bag: $2.50<br />
box of broccoli cream soup: $4.49<br />
meats from the deli, 0.5lb of each:<br />
- black forest ham: $4.63<br />
- bacon lovers turkey: $5.04<br />
cold drinks (our special treat):<br />
- mango coconut water: $2.69<br />
- vanilla chai tea: $1.61<br />
<br />
TOTAL: $44.64<br />
total savings w/ sales and student discount: $6.38<br />
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<br />Janellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312639812455113707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3068438407860172549.post-77088424029800297042013-08-20T07:53:00.000-07:002013-08-20T07:53:13.681-07:00Fall 2013 GoalsWith the school year only 2 weeks away, it's time to talk about some goals. I like to post them here because 1. I'll never lose them or forget where they are, and 2. it makes me feel a bit more accountable, since it's out there for the world to see. So, here they are:<br />
<br />
By the end of the summer:<br />
- complete 2 interviews for my thesis<br />
- read my entire Introduction to Music textbook and listen to the CDs<br />
- prepare lecture notes for the first 2 weeks of class<br />
- finish converting my 401(K) into my Roth IRA<br />
- apply for a new passport<br />
- attend at least 2 live performances (through JazzMobile and Chamber Music Society)<br />
- start reading at least 1 Ellington book and 1 Parker book, for my classes in the fall<br />
- brainstorm what my extra assignment(s) for the Parker class could/will be<br />
- finish my "spring" cleaning by organizing small collections, like recordings and jewelry, etc.<br />
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This semester:<br />
- stay on top of teaching and personal/student assignments (having weekends off will definitely help with this, though I want to get as much work as possible done on Tues/Thurs mornings and afternoons)<br />
- bring lunch at least 20 days out of the month (assuming there are 22 weekdays in a month)<br />
- eat dinner out less than 4 times/month for during the week, and less than 4 times/month for weekends<br />
- attend at least 4 live musical performances per month<br />
- LOSE 10 LBS! (This is a biggie, obviously, but it's not impossible. 10lbs in 4 months is 2.5lbs/month, or a little more than 0.5lbs/week. This is not that much. During my most committed times, I was losing 2lbs/week. My weight loss will be accomplished by eating better/bringing lunches, consuming less carbs overall, and incorporating more exercise/general movement into my daily life. I can do this!!)<br />
- register for (and pass!!) NYS teacher certification exams (3)<br />
- conduct 3-6 more interviews for my thesis<br />
- complete 75-80% of my thesis work, including my discography, bibliography, and musical analysis. That way, I can spend time over the winter break (nearly 2 months) assembling the prose, and I'll have minimal research/interviews remaining for the spring. In fact, my goal should be 85-90% of thesis work...<br />
<br />
By graduation (May 2014):<br />
- apply for (and obtain!!) NYS PreK-12 music teacher certification<br />
- LOSE 20 LBS! (Again, not impossible!! And if I am able to lose a total of 20lbs by May 2014, I will be back around the weight that I was at for my wedding, nearly 2 years prior. I have just been putting on weight since we moved up here, and it's time to reverse that trend. As my workload lightens at Rutgers, I will increase my weight loss efforts. My eventual end goal, from the weight that I am at this moment, is 55lbs of weight loss. 20lbs would put me over 1/3 of the way there.)<br />
- start looking for a new apartment (though we won't move until July)<br />
- apply to summer and fall job opportunitiesJanellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312639812455113707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3068438407860172549.post-73359494515292312072013-08-12T07:46:00.003-07:002013-08-12T07:59:30.059-07:00What is Fresh Direct?After moving to NYC, I started seeing trucks and hearing a lot about <a href="http://www.freshdirect.com/" target="_blank">FreshDirect</a>. Groceries... delivered? I had never heard of such a thing, besides Meals On Wheels, which is clearly not the same thing. I read some reviews online, which weren't too positive, saying you could find stuff for the same price in real stores and not have to pay shipping, etc. I created an account, for funsies, and I was immediately sent a $25 off coupon.<br />
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Well, now.<br />
<br />
That's fun. I like getting $25 worth of groceries for nothing. An old habit kicked in - something I started doing while purchasing items online while planning my wedding. I searched for "Fresh Direct coupons", and found one for $50 off.<br />
<br />
Well, now.<br />
<br />
That's even better. I do like $50 worth of free groceries. The caveat was that I needed to spend $100 total, but that was fine by me... I already had $200 in my cart!<br />
<br />
I went through a moral dilemma, though. I wanted to get all this super-awesome food, but the produce is delivered at the peak of freshness. What was I to do, needing to feed only 2 people and having more fresh produce than we could eat in time on hand? I changed my shopping approach.<br />
<br />
I filled my online shopping cart with meat.<br />
<br />
Meat is a tricky item. It can be very expensive, and it's less abundant in NYC, at my local grocery store, than in Texas, at any grocery store. Our freezer had been painfully empty since arriving in NYC, and our meat consumption left us wanting. So I took our $200 (minus $50, so closer to $150) and after comparing it to local prices and making sure it was comparable (which it was), spent it mostly on meat.<br />
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Need pictures? Here's my Fresh Direct Christmas:<br />
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The boxes arrived at my 5th floor apartment, at the scheduled time,<br />
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<br /></div>
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packed so neatly</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje88hKqrMrjqdstOABYsdi-7PBxBKn3PvOuaT57wlsOJjP5gR1sVHP727tS95VMCaEH9wCQFMWvpfgh_nWguseJGJ6FAXRQwj7sx2UQaeXjxKPIK96UovjnQxvejvsZunQoBwoxqFny8y9/s1600/photo-27.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje88hKqrMrjqdstOABYsdi-7PBxBKn3PvOuaT57wlsOJjP5gR1sVHP727tS95VMCaEH9wCQFMWvpfgh_nWguseJGJ6FAXRQwj7sx2UQaeXjxKPIK96UovjnQxvejvsZunQoBwoxqFny8y9/s320/photo-27.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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with beautiful fresh vegetables</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4LpBvw5qn3VAYpQCD77GjvQCA1G1TT1Q86N0NkFWQvcrByk_LP3egVdETQhYXSJOQ_RwHYc5EK8Mlly5ZTJT2U07pWfmBG4eNIOvdEj-ANPAao04r39pYBdJ3VWdgrghxuF96aLOnAUNJ/s1600/photo-25.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4LpBvw5qn3VAYpQCD77GjvQCA1G1TT1Q86N0NkFWQvcrByk_LP3egVdETQhYXSJOQ_RwHYc5EK8Mlly5ZTJT2U07pWfmBG4eNIOvdEj-ANPAao04r39pYBdJ3VWdgrghxuF96aLOnAUNJ/s320/photo-25.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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including some curly kale</div>
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<img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZqh-5lU1m0MSl-D3vTdRrBVVcJNQpXj_6iEtiIkX6H0Jtj1KAtMHURZi1GJve4aDAiSdsJ5ufLRUOwA7b4htiFxRJzOGWsFYfNY0_2IH6lw2mUj7qGQY59QrESRnXCzd9BPFOmMOD9C4N/s320/photo-26.JPG" width="240" /></div>
<br />
and a butternut squash.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtVQ-oz2vYP_uh6IWTgcfv5sbnszLVCcYDSkhrOroOfdVT8NQVcJ_mLgTqJlLZUs2vomAsHrVkvBvkNhWO1lfBQ4WOZmcq7sansutN5KxBgxlD_mwVmkWVAM2u1rJTDqDUIb2zc5YO8oTS/s1600/photo-28.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtVQ-oz2vYP_uh6IWTgcfv5sbnszLVCcYDSkhrOroOfdVT8NQVcJ_mLgTqJlLZUs2vomAsHrVkvBvkNhWO1lfBQ4WOZmcq7sansutN5KxBgxlD_mwVmkWVAM2u1rJTDqDUIb2zc5YO8oTS/s320/photo-28.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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The meat was abundant</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtSiVAKMD8jShayGKwK3aNfnhqMHpdcaa-xIxLzK2GCsZuFkUp3mmv2giE4-H_AsoXLP-SjukObxcKFalsF9b7pJGMUzyrDBNyQNqbabTYkQH9QdiCF-Fi3DxnZNdKIQKKq-8u8jrfKO5t/s1600/photo-29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtSiVAKMD8jShayGKwK3aNfnhqMHpdcaa-xIxLzK2GCsZuFkUp3mmv2giE4-H_AsoXLP-SjukObxcKFalsF9b7pJGMUzyrDBNyQNqbabTYkQH9QdiCF-Fi3DxnZNdKIQKKq-8u8jrfKO5t/s320/photo-29.JPG" width="320" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black;"> </span></a></div>
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and packed my once-empty freezer.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJdiocybJbf1XGdibZQcbAZ72M0b1kqZPm1r8cHjx41Z0kfpqnz5PciP5wpXSpZnkIUJcYnfxEKo5MRGtMExki13q0JL7MZaDOtY1k9vgHBR9o2NuEbwIzujZW4Ukwi3A-8EN-BZPgXmzW/s1600/photo-30.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJdiocybJbf1XGdibZQcbAZ72M0b1kqZPm1r8cHjx41Z0kfpqnz5PciP5wpXSpZnkIUJcYnfxEKo5MRGtMExki13q0JL7MZaDOtY1k9vgHBR9o2NuEbwIzujZW4Ukwi3A-8EN-BZPgXmzW/s320/photo-30.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The food is/was/has been delicious, and overall, I was quite pleased with the experience. I'm not a FD member (for the discounted shipping prices), but I would consider purchasing in bulk like this again, if I have an extra $150 lying around. Speaking of which, here's the receipt total, if you're curious:<br />
<br />
80% lean ground chuck 2 lbs@$4.99/lb $9.98<br />
90% lean ground beef sirloin 1 lb@$6.99/lb $6.99<br />
Australian lamb loin chop (2") 0.84 lbs@$11.99/lb $10.07<br />
Beef fajita strips family pack 3.3 lbs@$5.39/lb $17.79<br />
Beef stew meat family pack 5.14 lbs@$4.99/lb $25.65<br />
Boneless pork loin chop (1") 2.9 lbs@$5.39/lb $18.63<br />
($3 extra charge to have the 6 chops individually vacuum-packed)<br />
Frenched lamb rib chop 1 lb@$18.99/lb $19.99<br />
($1 extra charge for vacuum-packed)<br />
Pork tenderloin roast 1.08 lbs@$4.99/lb $5.89<br />
Rib eye steak (1.5") 2.48 lbs@$15.99/lb $40.64<br />
(I sure missed me some thick-cut rib eyes from Texas)<br />
Sirloin steak (1") 2.3 lbs@$6.99/lb $18.08<br />
($2 extra for individual vacuum packing)<br />
Butternut squash 2.74 lbs@$1.49/lb $4.08<br />
Green kale (bunch) $2.99<br />
Jersey fresh asparagus (1 lb) $2.99<br />
Russet Potato (5 lb bag) $2.69<br />
Yellow corn by the ear (4 ears) $2.00Janellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312639812455113707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3068438407860172549.post-8654034629546448822013-08-12T07:21:00.000-07:002013-08-12T07:21:45.951-07:00Meal Planning, Take OneI've never really REALLY tried to plan meals before. I mean, I'll have a general game plan, and I love cooking at home - I have all the tools I need and a large enough kitchen to get things done - but I usually only plan a day or two in advance, taking advantage of the time I have and my limited culinary skills to 'be spontaneous' and make what I can from what I have, or what I can pick up from the store on the way home.<br />
<br />
This week, things are different.<br />
<br />
I have three weeks left of summer before I start my final year of grad school, which will include teaching a course for undergrads at Rutgers University, and also serving as a teaching assistant at a K-8 school on the UWS 25 hours/week. So, for the next three weeks, I plan to take FULL advantage of my unheard-of free time, because it's all going to disappear quite soon. Hopefully, in the next 21 days, I can develop some meal-planning habits that will carry me through the semester, so that my husband and I can continue healthy and home cooked eating habits, rather than resorting to the old standby of takeout and thoughtless, boring meals.<br />
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The produce at my local grocery store, FoodTown, is horrendous. The rest of the store is decent enough, with a whopping four aisles of options, and while the produce LOOKS nice, I really feel like the produce distributors ship us the worst of the harvest. For that reason, we've started purchasing our produce from a store on the UWS, Garden of Eden (locations throughout the city) or the Union Square Greenmarket, depending on where we are through the week, since neither is particularly close to our home. This week's haul from The Garden includes:<br />
<br />
carrots<br />
cucumbers<br />
plouts (Some hybrid of plums and.... apricots? I'm not sure. We called them dinosaur eggs growing up.)<br />
hearts of romaine<br />
plum tomatoes<br />
poblano peppers<br />
zucchini<br />
yellow summer squash<br />
sweet onions<br />
red delicious apples (for lunches)<br />
<br />
So, with the focus on these veggies, which were mostly on sale, this week's menu is:<br />
<br />
Monday<br />
Pork Tenderloin Chimichurri (using <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/pork-tenderloin-with-chimichurri-recipe/index.html" target="_blank">this</a> recipe) with <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/broiled-zucchini-and-potatoes-with-parmesan-crust-recipe/index.html" target="_blank">roasted vegetables</a> (potato, onion, zucchini, carrot) and a green salad (lettuce, tomato, cucumber)<br />
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Tuesday<br />
Cobb Salad with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, carrot, avocado, leftover chopped tenderloin, hard-boiled eggs, and <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/healthy-appetite-with-ellie-krieger-/cobb-salad-recipe/index.html" target="_blank">this</a> dressing. I'm also planning to make a <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/grandma-hiers-carrot-cake-recipe/index.html" target="_blank">carrot cake</a>.<br />
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Wednesday<br />
Pasta Primavera with summer squash and carrots, with <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sandra-lee/zucchini-cakes-recipe/index.html?ic1=obinsite" target="_blank">zucchini cakes</a>. We're planning to go to an outdoor concert that evening, so I'm hoping this will all pack well, and I know it will be tasty, even cold.<br />
<br />
Thursday<br />
<a href="http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/poblano_skirt_steak_fajitas.html" target="_blank">Poblano steak fajitas</a> topped with avocados and onions<br />
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Friday<br />
Grilled cheese and tomato soup. This is the least homemade, most store-bought meal, as I'm using pre-made tomato/red pepper soup, but I figure, after a week of cooking at home, we'd enjoy something a little easier to make, that feels a little guiltier but still isn't too bad (and still not take-out).<br />
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If we still have cucumbers left over at the end of the week, I might try the <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes-and-cooking/50-smoothies/index.html" target="_blank">#10 smoothie recipe</a>.<br />
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***<br />
The emphasis is clearly on the veggies, with only 3 meals even containing meat, and only 2 really focus on the meat. That meat is left over from our Fresh Direct haul (which I briefly mention <a href="http://accountabletome.blogspot.com/2013/06/grocery-shopping-in-nyc-on-budget.html" target="_blank">here</a> and still need to write a full post about), so we didn't have to spend money on that, and the pasta is from the 30 box binge-shopping sale experience. The shopping list to round out the produce trip includes:<br />
<br />
jalapeƱos (As a Texas-NYC transplant, I'm embarrassed to not have any at home, but it is what it is.)<br />
avocado<br />
tortillas (Again, how am I out of this?? Obviously because quesadillas are a go-to meal.)<br />
eggs<br />
red pepper-tomato soup<br />
cream cheese frosting (I don't want to bother making that from scratch, for cost reasons.)<br />
vanilla extract<br />
<br />
And that's it! Given that I have a base of other ingredients (flour, sugar, oils, butter, spices, vinegar, etc), and that we already had the meat in the freezer, we're going to have all our dinners for the week at less than $75. Add in our sandwich-based lunches and at-home coffee-based breakfasts, and we're going to eat (GOOD) in NYC for less than $100 this week. I'm very excited about that.Janellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312639812455113707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3068438407860172549.post-38634477801718407112013-06-11T23:32:00.000-07:002013-06-11T23:32:49.909-07:00Grocery Shopping in Harlem, continuedHere's the tally from our most recent trip to the store:<br />
<br />
"Golden Puffs" cereal-in-a-bag: $2.29<br />
"Apple Jacks" cereal-in-a-bag: $2.29<br />
Food Town Corn Flakes: $2.19 (least expensive per-lbs cereal in the store)<br />
Skim Milk, 1 gallon: $3.99<br />
Frozen Peas (small-ish bag): $1.99 ($.50 off, on sale)<br />
Frozen Peas and Carrots (small-ish bag): $1.99 ($.50 off, on sale)<br />
Chipotle Gouda Deli Sliced Cheese (not pre-packaged), 1/4 lbs: $2.00<br />
Peppermill Turkey Deli Sliced Meat (not pre-packaged), 1/4 lbs: $2.29<br />
Goya Chickpeas, 1 can: $.89 ($.20 off, on sale)<br />
Grape Tomatoes, 2 pints: $2.49/pint (on sale)<br />
Salad Mix (Half Spinach, Half Spring Mix): $2.99<br />
Goya Ranchero Refried Pinto Beans, 2 cans: $1.69/can<br />
Goya Black Beans: $.89 ($.20 off, on sale)<br />
Russet Potatoes (5 lbs bag): $2.99<br />
Blueberries, 1 pint: $1.99 (on sale, down from $4.99)<br />
Jell-O Instant Pudding Mix: $1.49<br />
Split Top Wheat Bread Loaf: $2.19<br />
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TOTAL: $40.82<br />
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The sale savings might not seem like much, but they do add up to $5.40 when all is said and done. Choosing off-brand and bag cereal also helps... my grocery store includes a unit price to do an equal price comparison, and the bag cereal per-unit price hovers around $2.62, whereas the boxed cereal per-unit price is closer to $3.50. The Food Town Corn Flakes per-unti price is around $1.50, I believe, making it the best value in the store, which is definitely something worth buying when you're a cereal addict like me. Hope this helps some people out there!Janellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312639812455113707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3068438407860172549.post-32464799830724998842013-06-07T16:12:00.000-07:002013-06-07T16:12:04.290-07:00Grocery shopping in NYC on a budgetI've posted my receipts from my grocery store crawl and other, more specific trips, but here's a recent receipt when we were "out of everything". We've also been on a tight budget recently, so I wanted to spend less than $40 and get food for a week or so. I'll add to this - we have a stockpile of pasta from when it went on sale for $1/box (brought home 30 boxes of pasta that week, and loving it). We also have a freezer full of meat that we got from FreshDirect with a $50 off coupon (spent $145, so $195 worth of meat; planning to post on that at some point, too). So - with that in mind - here's what I spent this week (need to go back for milk, olive oil, and beans) at my local grocery store, FoodTown:<br />
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Grape Tomatoes: 2 pints @ $2.49/pint (on sale)<br />
Loose Carrots: 1.35 lbs (6 or so carrots) @ 1lb/$.99<br />
28oz can of crushed tomatoes: 5 cans @ $1/can (on sale - usually $2.19/can)<br />
Small can of tomato paste: 3 cans @ $.59/can<br />
Vidalia Onions: 1.56 lbs (2 large onions) @ 1lb/$1.29<br />
"Apple Jacks" in-a-bag (off-brand cereal): $2.29<br />
"Froot Loops" in-a-bag (off-brand cereal): $2.29<br />
Red Delicious Apples: 2.47 lbs (5 or 6 apples) @ 1lb/$1.99 (least expensive apples this week)<br />
Strawberries: $2.99 (on sale)<br />
Salad mix, Spring Mix/Spinach: $2.99<br />
Blueberries: 2 pints @$1.99/pint (on sale - usually $4.99/pint)<br />
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TOTAL: $34.57<br />
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As you can see, the focus was on fresh ingredients, sale items, and stocking up to make homemade pasta sauce (way more delicious than the jar and inexpensive/easy to make). We keep a stock of 'pantry staples', like rice, flour, sugar, seasonings/spices, etc., so we just needed things to complement that. I hope this helps people out there curious about NYC or looking to move here!Janellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312639812455113707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3068438407860172549.post-22198102314894559682013-03-19T14:33:00.000-07:002013-03-19T14:33:38.625-07:00Job Scam #2: Mystery Shopper/MoneyGramI received 5000+ hits on this blog because I posted about my nanny scam experience (see: <a href="http://accountabletome.blogspot.com/2012/09/ive-been-job-hunting-in-city-for-about.html" target="_blank">this blog post</a>). It was linked by the NY Times, which was obviously the source of most of my traffic. Yay for me. In another round of job applications, I was subject to another scam. Here is my story.<div>
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I was applying to jobs for which I seemed qualified that were part-time and clerical/administratively-oriented, in an attempt to get out of retail hell. My standard application - a response to a craigslist ad - included a brief cover letter explaining that I am a graduate student seeking part-time employment and my attached resume (which, as all resumes do, has my phone number and address). I received a few responses (even 2 interviews) and this very interesting email:</div>
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From: assignments@evaluationsservice.com</div>
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Sent: January 29</div>
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We get hired to go to other peoples companies and act like customers in order to know how the staffs are handling their services in relation to their customers. Once we have a contract to do so, you would be directed to the company or outlet, and you would be given the funds you need to do the job(either purchase products or required services), after which you would write a comment on the staffs activities and give a detailed record of your experience.</div>
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Most companies employ our assistance when people give complains about their services, or when they feel there are needs for them to improve their customer service. your Identity would be kept confidential stored in our data as the job state (secret customer) you would be paid $200 for every duty you carry out, and bonus on your transportation allowance, and funds would be given to you as well as compensation when necessary, if you have to dine as part of the duty Your job will be to evaluate and comment on customer service in a wide variety of shops, stores, restaurant and services in your area.</div>
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You will write a report about the customer services, you will send your report back to us via Email, you will have to use the following pointers to prepare your report as listed below:</div>
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1) How long it took you to get services.</div>
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2) Ambiance/Outlook of the Shop/Outlet</div>
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3) Smartness of the attendant</div>
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4) Customer service professionalism</div>
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5) Reaction of personnel under pressure</div>
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6) Information that you think would be helpful</div>
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7) Your comments and impressions.</div>
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No commitment is made on this job, and you would have flexible hours as it suits you. If you are interested, do send in these information:</div>
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FULL NAME:</div>
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CONTACT ADDRESS (Not P.O.Box):</div>
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CITY:</div>
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STATE:</div>
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ZIP-CODE:</div>
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TELEPHONE NUMBER:</div>
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MOBILE NUMBER:</div>
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AGE:</div>
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OCCUPATION:</div>
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EMAIL:</div>
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So we can look at your distance from the locations which you have to put your service into, and your address would also be needed for your payments.</div>
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<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
Yours Sincerely</div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
Walter Collins</div>
</div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<div style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: medium;">
*****</div>
<div style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: medium;">
*****</div>
</div>
<div>
There are no alternations to that email. Besides the fact that there is no greeting, the entire thing sounds sketchy. But... since they weren't asking for any information that wasn't already on my resume, besides my age, I figured I'd bite.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I responded with this sentence opening my email: "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I am interested, though I have heard mixed things about "mystery shopper" companies."</span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
I received this in response:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
From: assignments@evaluationsservice.com</div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
Sent: February 18</div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
Hello ,</div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
Sorry for the late response, you have been Accepted as one of our Conducting Agent. You will be evaluatin<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">g <span class="il" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #222222;">MoneyGram</span> which is at Wal-Mart Stores in your neighborhood, kindly check out for one Wal-Mart store you will like to evalu</span>ate , make sure the store you will chose is close to your area as much as possible, you will have to send the name and address of the walmart, Please note that you <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">are to act Cool, Calm and Confident through out the period which you will be carrying out your survey at the store, in order not to arouse any suspicion. you will be shopping at Wal-Mart stores and also make a transaction at <span class="il" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #222222;">MoneyGram</span> which is at Wal-Mart as well , you will write a report about the customer services , you will send your report back to us via Email, you will have to use the following pointers to prepare your report :</span></div>
<div class="im" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #500050; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
1) How long it took you to get services.</div>
</div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
2)Ambiance/Outlook of the Shop/Outlet</div>
<div class="im" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #500050; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<div>
3) Smartness of the attendant</div>
<div>
4)Customer service professionalism</div>
<div>
5)Reaction of personnel under pressure</div>
</div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
6)Information that you think would be helpful</div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
7)Your comments and impre ssions.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
Payments will be mailed out to you, which you will expend in carrying out all that will be required of you including your compensation and Transportation fee. All Other Instructions will be sent out to you as soon as Evaluation commences.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
Please reply this Email and give us the name and address of the Wal-mart you will be evaluating so that we can mail out the payment as soon as possible.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
Thank you</div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
Walter Collins</div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
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<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<div style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: medium;">
*****</div>
<div style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: medium;">
*****</div>
</div>
<div>
An even sketchier-sounding email... and the fact that they wanted me to evaluate a Wal-Mart was sketchiest of all. This blog is mostly devoted to the fact that I live in NYC, and if you follow the Wal-Mart happenings, you know that they have tried to open a location here but never succeeded. So... there's not one here. Since I had to respond with a Wal-Mart location, I did... the Wal-Mart from hometown, a small town in Texas. I didn't write anything in the email beside the address.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I received this response: </div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
From: assignments@evaluationsservice.com</div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
Sent: February 27</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
Top <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">of the days to you. The Pay check for your first <span class="il" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #222222;">MoneyGram</span> evaluation assignment as been mailed and it will be delivered to you today via Fedex. .. . The Tracking No. for the package is ( 802276620952 ) you can confirm it at www . fedex . com to make sure..</span></div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">So, once you got the check I want you to go ahead deposit the check at your bank so that the fund can be released to you within 24hrs as the issuer bank instructed, then deduct your payment which is $200 Please remember that you are to act Cool, Calm and Confident throughout the period in which you will be carrying out the survey... You will proceed to any Wal-mart store in your Neighborhood and send Funds to another Secret Customer via <span class="il" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #222222;">MoneyGram</span> In order not to arouse any suspicion. After which you will write a report and send back to us via Email using the following pointers:</span></div>
<div class="im" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #500050; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">1) How long it took you to get services.</span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">2) Ambiance/Outlook of the Shop/Outlet</span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">3) Smartness of the attendant</span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">4) Customer service professionalism</span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">5) Reaction of personnel under pressure</span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">6) Information that you think would be helpful</span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">7) Your comments and impressions.</span></div>
</div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">8) The address and location of the outlet you evaluate</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">Here is the information for the new secret customer you are to send</span></div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">the <span class="il" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #222222;">money</span> to:</span></div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">Thomas Yrlas</span></div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">1700 Washington Ave</span></div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">Port Huron, MI 48060</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">Once you completed the assignment you need to get back to me with the <span class="il" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #222222;">MoneyGram</span> details such as;</span></div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">Sender Name and Address</span></div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">Amount sent (After deducting Transfer Charges)</span></div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">Reference Number (<span class="il" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #222222;">Money</span> transfer Code)</span></div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">Detailed Survey Report in English</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">*Notice : You are to take cash to the <span class="il" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #222222;">MoneyGram</span> </span></div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">*Notice : You must make sure you complete this first assignment asap, this can be done after 2hr you received the check.</span></div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">*Notice : You are to deduct any charges for the wiring <span class="il" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #222222;">MoneyGram</span> from the rest <span class="il" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #222222;">money</span> you're sending .</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">I will be looking forward to read from you soon .</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
Thanks</div>
</div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<br /></div>
<div>
*****</div>
<div>
*****</div>
<div>
How funny that the English gets worse as the emails progress. The tracking number is not a FedEx number, by the way - not enough digits, I believe. And did I mention that the Wal-Mart address I sent him was in Texas? I didn't respond to this email, and I thought that would be the end of the whole thing.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Then, I received a text from (872) 216-6879. This is transcribed verbatim:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Good morning Walter Collins i'm contacting you concerning the wal-mart assignment. The check for your first assignment has been delivered to your address and i have also emailed you with the instruction, kindly check because the assignment need to be carried out today</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That's odd. I replied with, "Do not text me. This is spam."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The response? "This not spam"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So I responded (I learned this line from a manager in my past, who used it on callers with non-American accents): "Your number has been blocked. If I received any more attempted texts from this number, I will be reporting it to the authorities to begin an investigation. Do not contact me."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I did not receive any more texts or email.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And, for the record, I had not received anything from FedEx. In case you're not familiar with this particular scam, that's how it works. They say they've FedEx'd you a package and that you MUST carry out the assignment TODAY, even if you haven't received the money. So, if you fall for it, you transfer the $200 and then you never get reimbursed.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I hope this helps any potential scammed people out there. If you're doing a search for (872) 216-6879, Walter Collins, or assignments@evaluationsservice.com, please know that they are associated with the MoneyGram scam.</div>
Janellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312639812455113707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3068438407860172549.post-5410395934445519442013-03-18T15:05:00.000-07:002013-03-18T15:07:11.974-07:00Cost of (Grocery) Food in NYCLiving in NYC has been quite the experience for me, coming from a small town in Texas. Of all the things I knew would be different when I moved here (laundry, transportation, getting to school in another state, going to the library, walking everywhere, having to go up 5 flights of stairs to get home, etc), I guess I never really thought about grocery shopping that much.<br />
<br />
I mean, in Texas, it was pretty simple - there is HEB and Wal-Mart. Take your pick. Sure, there was a farmer's market every Tuesday and Saturday, and Austin has a Whole Food's, and there's a specialty "health food" store, but 98.5% of grocery shopping was done at HEB, and I was 100% ok with that. The produce section was 1/4 of the store, the meat and dairy took up the entire back wall (and the beef was quite expansive), and the aisles, stacked high with variety, were wide and inviting.<br />
<br />
I had visited a friend in Brooklyn before moving here. I knew his local grocery store had narrow aisles and no meat section. I guess I expected my new neighborhood - Sugar Hill, a subsection of Harlem - to be different? It's not, really. Our "local"-ist place, Food Town, has 4 aisles: produce/meat, cereal/homegoods, canned goods/spices/pasta/coffee/tea, and frozen/beverages. Dairy is along the back wall, and that's all there is to it, besides the tiny deli/prepared foods counter and the 2"x2" fresh bread box. It's a sad and depressing place, but it is INCREDIBLY conveniently located store, being between my subway station and apartment; I pass it at least twice a day. It's great for picking something up on the way home, and it's all we've been using for the past 6 months (aside from PathMark, which is a joke not even worth mentioning, though you can read about it here, where it is named THE <a href="http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Media/Slideshow/2012/04/13/12-Worst-Supermarkets-in-America.aspx?index=12" target="_blank">worst grocery store in America</a>).<br />
<br />
Today, I went on a grocery store crawl. I found amazing variety of oases dotting the Upper West Side along Broadway. Rather than ramble on about their amazingness, I'm posting links to their websites and the tally of my receipts. I can't wait to go grocery shopping again.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.edengourmet.com/store/" target="_blank">Garden of Eden Gourmet Market and Specialty Foods</a> (my second favorite of all visited today)<br />
Simple Margarita Mix: $7.99<br />
Carrots (1.79lbs@$0.79/lb): $1.41<br />
Pint o' Blueberries: $2.99<br />
String Beans (1.10lbs@$2.99/lb): $3.29<br />
Eggplant (1.30lbs@$1.99/lb): $2.59<br />
TOTAL: $18.98<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.wmarketnyc.com/" target="_blank">Westside Market NYC</a> (my favorite of all today)<br />
3 Progresso soups, on sale: $2.00 each<br />
Pork Loin Filets, 4, boneless: $5.80<br />
Ground Pork (almost a pound): $3.91<br />
Beef Chuck Roast (almost 3 pounds): $12.52<br />
Kosher Dill Pickles (made locally): $2.99<br />
Assorted Cheese Bits: $4.09<br />
TOTAL: $35.31<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.zabars.com/" target="_blank">Zabar's</a><br />
NY Mild Cheddar (about half a pound): $5.13<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.fairwaymarket.com/" target="_blank">Fairway Market</a> (the most similar to HEB in Texas)<br />
5 chorizo links: $4.69 (way more expensive at Food Town - same package!!)<br />
2 large cans of crushed tomatoes: $1.67 each<br />
1 large can of peeled tomatoes: $1.50<br />
2 cans of refried black beans: $1.59 each<br />
2 cans of tomato paste: $0.89 each<br />
Sugar Snap Peas (1.52lbs@$2.99/lb): $4.54<br />
TOTAL: $19.03<br />
<br />
I think I'll stick to <a href="http://www.traderjoes.com/" target="_blank">Trader Joe's</a> for staples like peanut butter, cereal, and frozen vegetables. Food Town is fine for chicken/poultry, eggs, milk, non-specialty bread, and things I don't want to lug 80 blocks home. As for the other places - I'm so excited to have new stores to buy fresh fruits and vegetables, canned goods, gourmet items, and beef products!!Janellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312639812455113707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3068438407860172549.post-67312466313678834582013-01-16T21:55:00.000-08:002013-01-16T21:55:31.159-08:00Setting GoalsI studied flute with Dr. Jones at Texas State University for 11 semesters, and I began studying with her my sophomore year of high school... this works out to a solid 10 years with this amazing woman, with a few semester off here and there. One of the most important lessons she taught me was to set goals.<br />
<br />
She had us (the students of her ever-growing flute studio) keep a notebook each semester, which included a lot of things I waited until the last minute to assemble... notes from my lessons, concert programs, handouts and notes from lectures and events, historical information on music I was learning in my lessons and in flute ensemble, projects related to our flute studies, and more, depending on where we were in our course of study. This itself was a valuable practice that I hope to keep up with as I continue collegiate studies (the procrastination is still there, for sure, but I am good about keeping materials - it's just a matter of organizing now), but one thing we had to include in the notebook every semester, in addition to all that I've already listed, was our goals. She had a "Goals" Sheet we had to complete that looked something like this:<br />
<br />
<u>Goals</u><br />
<br />
This semester:<br />
<br />
This year:<br />
<br />
Before Upper Level (first half of music degree; 'pre-music'):<br />
<br />
Before Senior Recital:<br />
<br />
After Graduation:<br />
<br />
In my first few years, I was quite lazy in setting my goals. I would write similar things from semester to semester and I wouldn't look at the sheet after I wrote it (therefore not accomplishing my goals unless it was something that I already knew/had to accomplish anyway). As my seven years as an undergraduate continued, I began to think more and more about my goals - as I passed my Upper Level, completed my first Senior Recital, and neared Graduation. Real Life was creeping up on me, and I needed to start thinking about where I was going and what I wanted to do. With each passing semester, the thought of "post-graduation" became a nearer reality, and those seemingly far-off goals at the bottom of the page became something I would actually have to face. They included things like: apply to grad school, get accepted, complete grad school, find a real job in music/education, etc.<br />
<br />
And now, here I am. I've passed my Upper Level, two Senior Recitals, and I've graduated from Texas State. I'm in graduate school, and somewhat in real life (I've completed 3.5 of these milestones: <a href="http://blog.thenest.com/2012/05/17/all-grown-up-have-you-completed-the-5-milestones-of-adulthood/" target="_blank">Am I an adult yet??</a>) And as I am upon the eve of a week before school starts, I sat down to write down my goals for the semester - WITHOUT EVEN THINKING ABOUT IT. Obviously, in 10 years, Dr. Jones had some effect on me.<br />
<br />
I was literally writing down my goals when I realized that posting them on the internet would seem a little more solid, more committing. So, here they are - professional/school and personal goals for the semester...<br />
- complete all assignments (reading and written) before midnight the day before they are due<br />
- keep up with Historiography II listening assignments and my listening journal WEEKLY<br />
- spend at least one day/week working on my thesis at home or at the IJS<br />
- create a practice and exercise schedule (each, minimum 2x/week; ideally 3-5x/week)<br />
- keep a journal of practice and exercise<br />
(April: weight loss benchmark 1: Megan and Travis' wedding)<br />
(June: weight loss benchmark 2: Amy and Mike's wedding)<br />
- explore NYC with Ryan (ideally-weekly; at least-monthly)<br />
- investigate the process of teacher certification in the tri-state area<br />
- maintain my awesome sleep schedule (7-8 hrs/night)<br />
- keep one jazz-related book on me at all times for reading on public transit<br />
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This summer...<br />
- put my all into teaching my first collegiate class, if it makes (I need 10+ students)<br />
- find another part-time job (if my class doesn't make)<br />
- continue 1 day/week work on thesis<br />
- create personal listening list to complete (classical and jazz classics, mostly)<br />
- maintain practice and exercise schedules and journal<br />
- seek musical performance and live music opportunities<br />
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That's all I have for now. I intend to consult this list each time I check on my blog (which just passed 5000 views - woo hoo!) and stay motivated to keep on them.<br />
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Thanks for everything, Dr. Jones.Janellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312639812455113707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3068438407860172549.post-13071422553580827002012-09-23T22:32:00.001-07:002012-10-05T23:19:31.494-07:00Moving to New York CityI was born in Small Town, Texas, in the newly built hospital. I was raised in the same house my entire life, and when I picked a university, I only applied to the one in my hometown, which just happened to have 30,000+ students and amazing programs of interest to me. I lived in the dorms my first 2 years, as required (and funded) by my scholarship, and after that, I moved on to apartment-hopping (for 3.5 years), and then back to parents' houses for the last 1.5 years. I would have saved a lot of money if I had lived in my mom's house, but what I spent in money I gained in life experience, and I don't regret that decision.<br />
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This past summer, I finally moved from Small Town to New York City. Obviously, this is a big step, especially having never lived anywhere besides ST. I couldn't find too many resources on the internet about moving to New York (I didn't look all that hard), but most of them just talked about how stressful it is and made a big commotion of the whole ordeal. I'm here to say - it wasn't that different than moving <5 miles away from my mom's house, which is the furthest away I ever had a permanent residence, before my move to NYC. You have to go through a lot of the same steps.<br />
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<b>1. Find a place to live.</b><br />
For my first apartment in ST, my roommate Nick picked the place (in agreement with me, roommate Matt, and roommate Joel). I was fine with their choice and the place was great. For the second place with Mike, I picked the apartment. It was probably my favorite apartment I ever lived in, but that's probably a psychological thing, since I picked it. For the third apartment, roommate Donna picked it. Again, I was totally satisfied. And finally, in moving to NYC, roommate Henry picked the apartment.<br />
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For my NYC apartment hunt, I scoured the internet via CraigsList, WalkScore, and various other apartment hunting sites. I found brokers in the neighborhoods we were interested in, and I made phone calls and sent emails. Henry visited 4 or 5 apartments that we thought would work, and he ultimately made the final decision, since he was the only one that actually saw anything before I signed a lease. (If you don't want to sign a lease, subletting is also an option. Henry did that for 2-3 months earlier this year. Maybe he'll write a guest post on his adventures in subletting.)<br />
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Just as with any apartment, do your research on the neighborhood (we wanted northern Manhattan), know what amenities you're after (we were looking for a 600+ sq ft 2 bedroom, but ended up settling for 436), and be comfortable with the lease before you sign it. I read that thing cover to cover multiple times and had our broker make changes before we signed. I was able to get Henry and Ryan on the lease without having to do background checks on either of them (not that they wouldn't have checked out, but we would have had to pay another $100/person), which was great. And signing the lease was something I did 2 weeks before moving, all via email and FedEx. To this day, I've never met our brokers, but I've had tons of interaction with them online. It's possible to get an apartment in New York without even seeing the place first (not that I fully support that idea) and have it all set to go before you get here.<br />
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<b>2. Get yourself and your stuff there.</b><br />
This is the biggest difference between moving <5 miles and moving 2,100 miles. To move <5 miles, we'd load up my brother's truck 15 times and drive back and forth and back and forth. We'd spend an hour eating lunch and still be done by 3PM. To move to NYC, my husband and I took a scenic route, from Texas to Louisiana to Florida to Virginia to New Jersey to our new apartment, departing on Monday and arriving on Saturday (the places listed are the places we stopped to sleep along the way, in the homes of family and friends). It was a wonderful trip and I wouldn't trade it for the world, but I'll be the first to admit that driving across the country with all your worldly possessions on 10 wheels is a little unnerving.<br />
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Other friends that I have that have moved to New York have chosen different methods. One drove a smaller moving truck with his roommate, but took the direct route. Another flew up with his father and brought only the minimal number of things to survive, opting to live in a pre-furnished apartment and leave most of his belongings at his parent's house. All are viable options - just keep in mind that moving yourself and your things to New York is a HUGE expense. Well, unless you take roommate Henry's approach; he bought a one-way plane ticket and arrived with a suitcase full of clothes and all his musical instruments... and that was it. He sublet apartments until Ryan and I arrived here, and he's just been collecting things along the way. Most of his belongings are in storage at his parent's house in Texas. If you take that route, it's much less expensive, but most people would have a difficult time taking such a minimalist approach.<br />
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<b>3. Set up utilities and update billing information.</b><br />
This is a given no matter where you move. There are just some... unique aspects about it living in New York. (I say unique, but I really just mean different from ST. I suppose these things could actually be normal everywhere else and unique in ST, but this is just from my perspective.)<br />
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We had to set up our internet in New York. We called Verizon and ordered the modem, and waited. Then, it arrived and we went to plug it in. But... there was no phone jack. No phone jack. Anywhere. In the entire apartment. I didn't know that was still possible. Did the previous inhabitants not have a phone line or internet? Doesn't that seem just wild?? Anyway, we had to call Verizon again and have them come install a phone jack so that we could hook up our modem. Installing the phone jack was a sizable expense we had not budgeted for, but the cost of internet per month is comparable to ST.<br />
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The electric company was as easy as a phone call (the previous tenants had electricity, at least). Apparently, it had never been shut off, so it was just a matter of putting a start date on our billing cycle. Easy enough, and the cost is comparable to ST - we have a LOT of electronic equipment in our apartment, so I knew it wasn't going to be cheap.<br />
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No water bill. There's no water bill in New York - is this the case in other cities? In ST, they would sometimes make customers put down a $300 deposit to have water set up, but here, we don't even pay for it. I take longer showers just because I can.<br />
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We also had to update our address with our banks and cell phone bill. This was easy enough, but if you forget, you could find yourself without a functioning ATM card, under suspicion of theft.<br />
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<b>4. Explore your neighborhood and become familiar with the places you will frequent.</b><br />
This will happen on its own eventually, but it's nice to make a day of seeking these things. Our laundromat is directly across the street and open 24 hours, which is about as convenient as it gets. The grocery store, subway stop, dry cleaners, and nearest Chinese restaurant are 3.5 blocks south of us, which is also very convenient. I quickly discovered that a cold grocery store produce section is one of the best places to be on a hot August day. Starbucks, the supermarket, and a few more fast food places are 5.5 blocks south and 2 blocks east. This is a bit more of a hike (especially considering that coming home is all uphill), but I'm glad to know that they're there when I need them (like right now, since I'm out of shampoo).<br />
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Take some time to get to know where the things you need are located, and keep in mind it might be in a direction you hadn't considered. Even though we live in Harlem, which is in Manhattan, the nearest mall (including the nearest Target) is in the Bronx, one D train stop northeast of us. Knowing facts like this about your neighborhood could also affect where you choose to live (see item #1). The fact that the laundromat was right across from our front door and open 24 hours was a BIG plus to me. Also, living near an express stop vs. a local stop can make a big difference in New York. I've only lived in one apartment in my 1.5 months here, but express stops are amazing.<br />
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(I didn't have to explore in ST since I lived there my entire life, but living in different parts of the city did open my eyes to different amenities and places to visit.)<br />
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<b>5. Set up a budget and find a job.</b><br />
These are both major things that must be done, but I group them together because one will affect the other. Once I set up a budget for me and Ryan (estimating food costs since we didn't know what they'd be - more on that later), I knew that we needed to be making a combined income of at least $35,000/year (pre-taxes) just to pay our bills each month. This showed us where to set the bar as far as requesting salaries for "real" jobs, and knowing how minimal we could go on wages for "survival" jobs. Our monthly bills include: health insurance, internet, cell phones, electricity, transit, rent, food, a monthly medical bill I have from surgery last year, laundry, and credit cards (we're carrying a small, <$500 balance that we're chipping away on and not adding to). We will soon add renters insurance and student loans to the list.<br />
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Transit is a bill you may overlook when first arriving in New York, but it's one to keep in mind. A monthly, unlimited MetroCard is $104. We each have one of those. I also ride the PATH at least 16 times a month for school (16x$2=$32) and Ryan takes the train to National Guard drill one weekend each month ($22). All this combined (~$252) is obviously less expensive than car insurance, oil changes, maintenance, parking, gas, etc. that come with owning a car, but it must be accounted for nonetheless.<br />
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Laundry is a bit more expensive than I anticipated. We spend ~$60/month on laundry-related expenses, including restocking the soap and dryer sheets.<br />
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Food was an expense I did not expect to skyrocket the way it did, especially considering that we eat at home for nearly every meal - every breakfast, at least 6 lunches/week, and at least 5 dinners/week (which was quite the opposite in ST). When living in ST, we spent about $200 for food each per month, or $400 total. I estimated this in moving to New York and budgeted accordingly. As it turns about, based on our September numbers, we actually spend ~$800 a month on food... double the original estimate! This expense really jumped out at me, and if you're on a tight budget when you move, this is definitely an area to exercise frugality.<br />
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For job hunting in New York, I highly recommend CraigsList. It got me 1 temp job, 4 interviews, and 2 job offers. In the end, I got an interview through Henry for another job and we both, along with Ryan, earned positions with the company. Ryan also found restaurant employment through CraigList, and is working with a staffing agency to find more permanent/degree-related employment. Other ways to find work include: looking for "Help Wanted" signs in your neighborhood or neighborhoods you'd like to work in (this can be effective but very time-consuming) and telling friends you're looking for a job (Henry got his catering position through a friend and is happy there).<br />
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Mine and Ryan's experiences in the job market really helped our job hunt move quickly. I have ~4 years of retail experience at the mall in ST and 2 years food experience delivering pizzas for Dominos. Ryan worked in restaurants for summer jobs during college and in retail during his final year. It was only with this background that we were able to find employment within 15 days of arriving in New York. We have friends with more degrees than us in less competitive job markets that are struggling to find employment. So, if I can make one recommendation - work some menial jobs. The experience will help you later, especially if you can't find employment in your field, at your dream job, etc.<br />
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***<br />
My intent was to show that moving to New York should not be too intimidating - it's not that different from moving anywhere else in the country, as near or far as it may be from where you currently reside. When you move, make sure to keep in touch with old friends to keep your sanity. Work and school are great places to make friends and meet people, but if you arrive in the city without a job and you're not in school, it can be an incredibly lonely place (actually, it can be lonely even when you have a job, school, a husband, and a roommate, but it's definitely not as bad as those who come alone). Make an effort to reach out to people you love - they will want to hear about your adventures in the big city and you will want that human connection, so just give them a call.Janellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312639812455113707noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3068438407860172549.post-24005329121906064522012-09-20T09:20:00.000-07:002012-09-20T09:20:49.360-07:00How To Gain Weight And Waste MoneyIn case you have any doubts, this is written in pure jest. I do not have any sort of medical background and I am not giving advice. What I do have is experience in weight loss (and gain), and a desire to do the former. Unfortunately, with my current habits, I have been very unsuccessful. I write simply to highlight my poor choices and motivate myself to try harder.<br />
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(I have lost about 5 lbs since I've moved to the city, but given the amount that I need to lose to be in the normal/healthy weight range, I have a lot of work to do.)<br />
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<b>1. Limit physical activity.</b><br />
I've tried to set up goals for myself (walking/running 15 miles/week, walking/running on days I don't have school, etc) but I haven't met any of those goals (which, at one time in my life, were quite reasonable and easily accomplished). I have meager strength training goals, and I haven't been keeping up with those in any way either. I'm lucky I live in Manhattan and have to walk to get places, and I go to school in Newark, which is a 1-mile walk from the train station to the campus. Without those built-in safeguards, I probably wouldn't fit in my tiny little apartment (which is a 5th-floor walk-up... another minor source of movement).<br />
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<b>2. Consume Starbucks every day. ($)</b><br />
Though some people are capable of losing weight with this methodology (see: <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/woman-claims-lost-75-pounds-starbucks-diet-article-1.1161372?localLinksEnabled=false" target="_blank">The Starbucks Diet</a>), I have a special place in my belly for things like the White Chocolate Mocha and the seasonal Salted Caramel Mocha. Even though I order them with skim milk, small or medium, with extra shots of espresso and no whipped cream, it's an additional 150-300 calories that I don't need. To make matters worse, my new job is in Times Square. There are at least 3 Starbucks in a 2-minute radius.<br />
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<b>3. Cook at home and eat too much.</b><br />
We eat dinner at home almost every night - at least 6 nights a week. I make things like pasta, nachos, shepherd's pie, tacos, steak, baked potatoes, eggplant parmesan, chicken, etc., usually with a salad or vegetable-based side. These things sound great, cut costs, and keep our diets varied, but when I eat 2-3 servings, I'm consuming too much food. Period.<br />
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<b>4. Drink diet sodas and sweet tea. ($)</b><br />
Just because it's diet doesn't mean it's doing me any favors (see: <a href="http://jjvirgin.com/3149/zero-calorie-sodas-add-waistline/" target="_blank">Obesity Epidemic and Diet Sodas</a>). Sweet tea, a staple drink of the South, is full of sugar - at least it's the real stuff instead of the chemical subs. Either way I slurp it, these drinks increase weight.<br />
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<b>5. Eat out for lunch during work. ($)</b><br />
I recently started a new job with my husband and our roommate, and unfortunately, in the transition from lazy bum to gainfully-employed citizen, I haven't bought anything to take for lunch (and since I scarf it all down at dinner, it's not like we have leftovers from last night). This has resulted in: burgers, fries, pizza, gyros, etc.<br />
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<b>6. Keep an irregular sleep schedule.</b><br />
Being a student, a newlywed, and living in a different city for the first time in my life (never mind the fact that it's New York City), sometimes I have things that come up that prevent me from going to bed at the same time every night. And, given the irregularity of my day-to-day activities over the past month, I don't always find it necessary to wake at the same time each day. I can't explain how or why, but the type of sleep schedule I keep stresses the body and prevents weight loss... in fact, I think it encourages weight gain.<br />
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<br />
In conclusion - these are the 6 main areas I seek to improve to have a healthier lifestyle. They are manageable goals that I hope to accomplish and maintain in my weight loss journey.Janellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312639812455113707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3068438407860172549.post-86237301114801974852012-09-01T16:40:00.002-07:002012-09-20T08:15:48.669-07:00don't rain on my job hunt<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
I've been job hunting in the city for about 15 days now, and I'm happy to report I now have a job. Unfortunately, my hunt was not without its darker points. This is a fraudulent response I received to my response to a craigslist ad. I would not have known it was fraudulent (though I had inklings) had I not google'd the email and seen that others had received the same response... in 2009. This is an update, per se, to show that this is still being used. This was in regards to a babysitting gig. The ad seemed legit and looked like most other ads for a babysitter/nanny on craigslist. Here's the email I received:</div>
</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">Am glad to receive your letter and also very happy to let you know that the position is still very much open. Am not sure how best to go about this nanny choosing, as you should understand that a child is not what you just leave in the care of anyone as there has to be trust and love as very good parent would give to a child. Will be nice to have a personally interview so as to create a concrete ground with the hope of all best expectations. I did lose my mom about two weeks ago and only had her funeral some days back here in England and we should be back in states in a week from now, hence, we have been for a look out for a nanny even before the death of mom. It will be nice if we find one before we get back home and if it happens to be you then we would be the happiest people as myself and my husband will be so occupied by work in the coming week and we just seek to have the best person to look over our child. We can kindly get on with all formal interview before we arrive back States and it will be nice if you could come on Instant messenger so we could have a formal chat and of course conduct some interviews and exchange a few questions so as to prepare ahead of our coming home. You can meet me on yahoo IM on this ID:(</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><a href="mailto:venusclemons@yahoo.com" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">venusclemons@yahoo.com</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">) or you can simply text me on:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><a href="tel:%28646%29%20494-5160" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" value="+16464945160">(646) 494-5160</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">as I can not receive international calls here cos the tariff is ridiculous on roaming but i can send sms messages and also receive. Just fix a time and i will make out some time within the next 24hours.Thank you so much and i do hope for a better communication and look forward to having you as best of family and friends.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">If you have to know a little about my family, my name is Venus Clemons am 32 years of age and a mother of a wonderful boy Jamie who is 1yr 6months old. We live in New York just recently moved from W. Sacramento. My husband's name is Artis, he is an Engineer and job mostly takes him out town so he mostly away from home. I work as an interior decorator and work from home, so you certainly will have me at most times but am always occupied with work in my home studio and the time we need a nanny is for Mondays-Fridays from 9am-6pm each of these days.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">I have listed some questions from for you below as i was advised by the nanny site that these questions should be the basis for for us to make a choice of a good baby sitter.Our kid mean everything to us and we would do all withing our best of efforts to give him the best of things in life.I hope the questions are not so breath taking , we are only trying to act as we have been directed by the nanny site so we can know we are having someone with enormous experience when it comes to baby sitting.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">Questions are listed below:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">Do you smoke?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">How well do you like pets ?Any allergies?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">Do you drink alcohol?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">Do you speak any languages other than English?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">Would you work in a position with a mom how far? how long?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">What are your education goals?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">Have you ever been treated for mental illness/depression?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">How many children do you feel comfortable caring for?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">What ages do you prefer?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">Are you CPR and first aid certified?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">What are your weaknesses/limitations?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">What are your strengths?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">What do you like to do your free time?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">How many people are in your family?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">What is your relationship like with your parents and siblings?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">What jobs have you had in the past?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">Have you been a past nanny ?where do you get a job?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">Are you interested in taking classes?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">How assertive are you?Do you feel you communication?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">How much do you charge and what hours are you available?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">I hope to get your response back soon enough so we can get on with this.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">Thank you and stay blessed and lastly kindly send at least one of your reference (s) so we can contact them and know more about you and also you send me a text on </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><a href="tel:%28646%29%20494-5160" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" value="+16464945160">(646) 494-5160</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;"> if you need to get a hold of me but I can not receive calls here in England due to international roaming cost.</span><br />
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Upon investigating (google-ing the questions, actually), I read that, had I responded to this email, I would have been given the run-around, eventually resulting in "Venus" wanting me to transfer money because she's overseas, etc. I'm glad I never responded and internet people set me straight. Hope this helps someone else in the future.<br />
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The job I did find is pretty close to a dream job, and I'm quite excited about it. My husband and roommate are also now employed at the same place, in the same capacity. We have a very exciting week ahead of us, and many paychecks in our future. I'm looking forward to it!Janellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312639812455113707noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3068438407860172549.post-76787498177319607432012-08-24T16:09:00.000-07:002012-08-24T16:09:27.231-07:00An Introduction to AllThis blog has many purposes - journal/chronicle, open forum, and information source, among others. I've had a lot of changes in the past year and I feel like my life is just getting started, so it's time to start keeping track of things.<br />
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So you know where I'm coming from, here's who I am:<br />
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- I was born and raised in a tiny town in Texas and I've lived there my entire life... until now. I just moved to New York City. Manhattan, to be exact. Sugar Hill, if you want to get specific, which is the northern end of Harlem.<br />
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- Even though I lived in this tiny town my entire life, I do consider myself well-traveled. I've been to Europe twice (once for a week and once for a month), to include England, France, Italy, Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Belgium, and Austria. I have close family across the United States, which means I've spent a lot of time in Florida, Connecticut, Wyoming, and Washington state (as well as Washington DC, though I don't have family there). I've seen my fair share of American landmarks, including Devil's Tower, Yellowstone National Park, Mt. Rushmore, the monuments of DC and the Smithsonian, the Alamo, the Mississippi river, and countless others. So, even though I'm just a small-town girl, don't be too quick to called me naive, please.<br />
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- I just graduated my college with my bachelors degree, and even though I went to school in my hometown, I lived on-campus for two years (required by my scholarship) and then I lived in apartments for 3.5 years (enabled by my scholarship and later, part-time jobs). Then, I lived with my husband's parents and then my mom for 1.5 years, to save money for the coming life events, like getting married and moving to New York City.<br />
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- Yes, I was in school for 7 years. I even took summer school for 6 of those years. I graduated having successfully completed something like 213 hours (whereas the average bachelors takes about 130 hours). I have two degrees in music and a minor in philosophy. I am a true nerd, not one of those people that wears thick glasses to be a hipster nerd.<br />
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- I'm starting my masters in about 2 weeks. I was accepted into a very unique program and I'm excited. You've gotta understand, going to college in my hometown made every day kind of like a high school reunion. I couldn't go a week without seeing at least 5 people I grew up with. But now, living 1800 miles away, I don't know hardly anyone here. That's where I get a little scared.<br />
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- But luckily, I do know a few people, at least in the city, if not at my school. I live in New York with my husband, Ryan. We've been married a whole 2 months, so we're still trying to figure this whole married-life thing out. He's a wonderful human being and the perfect match for me. I'm very lucky to have him, and for him to be so supportive of my goals. He also just graduated - we met attending the university. We had a beautiful wedding and an unforgettable honeymoon, so we're still coming off of those events. I called our road trip up to New York our second honeymoon. It, too, was unforgettable.<br />
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- And, we have our roommate, Henry. He and I have been good friends for about a year now; we met through work and we've been almost inseparable ever since. Ryan, Henry, and I are all musicians, so living together works out really well, as far as habits, noise production, and go-to conversation topics. Plus, we're all in that late 20's, figure-out-life phase. We don't have the invincibility of the early 20s or the sense of settlement the 30s bring (so I've heard), so we all have each other to bounce things off of. Henry's from Texas too, and new to the city (though not as new as me and Ryan).<br />
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- We have a couple other friends that just moved to the city from small-town Texas, too, so we're really not completely alone. Plus, like I said earlier, I have family in Connecticut, which is only a 2-hour train ride away, and neighboring New Jersey (1-hour by car).<br />
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- I also have 2 siblings - one in Iowa and the other still in Texas - both older than me and both very big influences in my life. My mom also still lives in Texas, in the same house for the past 26 years. I don't have a relationship with my father.<br />
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- I'm very overweight. A big part of this blog is me being accountable to myself, writing about my workouts and my meals each day, or as often as I can once school starts.<br />
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I didn't expect my life story to take quite so long. However, that's me in a nutshell. This blog will be a place where I post information and stories of all the topics I've mentioned thus far: moving across the country and now living in New York City, being a newlywed, weight loss and health, being a musician, and others.<br />
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Thanks for reading.Janellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312639812455113707noreply@blogger.com0