I have written way too many depressing blog posts so I’ve decided to write about something good and positive:
I’ve lost 10 lbs!!!
True, it’s taken me around 4 months to lose it but Mrs. J told me that the pounds that take a long time to lose are the ones that you keep off. It is also true that when I weighed myself 2 days later, I had regained 3 lbs. but I’m going to say that it’s because I kinda pigged out the night before because I had a serious craving for a (veggie) burger and fries and refuse to make myself feel bad about it.
Either way, I’m going to say it was a combination of exercise and diet. I will admit that have fallen off the wagon a couple of times (like when I bruised my knee on my birthday and it hurt when I put any pressure on it), but I go to the gym around 2 times a week (Friday and Sunday) and will remember to attempt to use the Booty Bounce (or whatever it’s called) DVD my mom got me at some point. Plus now that it’s getting nice again, I can walk again, including the mile between the gym and the J’s house. Who knows? I might even fulfill my wish and get a bike.
And yes, I am a vegetarian now: no meat, seafood occasionally, and I drink soy (or rice) milk instead of regular but I haven’t given moo-milk dairy completely…yet (maybe once I actually get a job and can afford substitutes). I decided to try it out for a combination of environmental, animal cruelty and health reasons (my mom got me Skinny Bitch for my birthday and it made me want to vomit) and don’t really miss meat all that much. I didn’t really eat pork to begin with and usually had to find ways to add pork and beef to my diet before – now I just don’t bother. Meatless burgers and chik’n taste pretty damn good actually and usually satisfy any cravings. I always loved eating vegetables so I get to eat a lot more of them (although it sucks that I still don’t like mushrooms since portabellas are in a lot of things). Plus, I probably consume a lot more protein, fiber and other things than I did before just because I’m making sure its in my diet so I don’t become deficient. Will I ever eat meat again? Maybe. I’m not counting anything out. My major test will be barbeque season because I love anything cooked on a grill. I just don’t really feel like eating meat so I’m not and if I feel like a steak, then I’ll get a steak. But it has been helping with the pounds lately though.
But yes, I lost 10 lbs. I am also under impression that I do not look my weight since my mom was surprised when I told her my actual weight. She offered me her car if I got to a certain weight by a certain time but I don’t know since I’m doing this for me and no one else. It’s nice to know that I don’t look it to my toughest critic.
But the important thing is that I lost 10 lbs! Squeel!!! :)
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
2 Degrees, No Job and $66,000+ in Debt
The above title is technically false – I only owe Sallie Mae $66,000+ (essentially the cost of grad school and living expenses) – and now that I’m writing this without an internet connection, I’m not sure if that includes interest or not. If I added in my federal loans, I owe somewhere around $100,000. I try not to think about it the total amount because I started crying hysterically last time I did.
Besides, this is an opus against Sallie Mae. The federal government at least understands that this is a terrible economic climate and many people my age who went to college are either unemployed or underemployed and so I can defer my loans every 6 months until that hopefully changes.
But, oh no, not Sallie Mae! If you’re unemployed, then tough shit because you have to start paying them back anyway. I asked them when they were calling me every day about my defaulting loans where I was supposed to get the money to pay them back since I wasn’t working, and they told me in the most unsympathetic voice possible that they didn’t give a fuck – they just wanted their money.
(FYI for those who hate outsourced call centers: DO NOT CALL SALLIE MAE! In an extended sequence that both amused and elicited empathy from some of my fellow interns, I called customer service to ask a question and not only got people who spoke with really think Indian accents, but got people with really thick Indian accents that didn’t understand what the hell I was talking about. I just finally kept asking to speak with a supervisor until I got someone in the United States who I could understand and could explain the issue at hand.)
But since they started to not only threaten my credit but also Mike’s since he cosigned one of my loans, I had to start paying them on an extremely extended schedule. Luckily my already broke parents (who are attempting to save for their retirement themselves) are splitting my loan payments until I can get a job. But that’s pretty much it. I still intern three days a week, which means that I have to pay for transportation (which isn’t cheap in the Chicagoland area since the state is broke – and my lack of money is the reason why I don’t go in more often which may be keeping me from advancing faster). I also have to pay for my cell phone. Oh, and I do like eat occasionally. Luckily Mike doesn’t mind when I occasionally go into his wallet. I could really use my tax return right now but my mom is a selfish, inconsiderate bitch (long story) so I can’t get it until sometime in April. Le sigh.
I willingly admit that I am not completely blameless in my situation. I did not read/understand completely what I was signing on to. I did not know that they didn’t have any deferment options unless you were in school, medical residency/training (which is technically still school) and I think one other option that I don’t qualify for. But the reason I was so flippant with my financial future is because I thought that I would graduate with a job – or at least not have to wait very long before I started a position. I mean, when you spend your life constantly being told that the key to being successful is a good education, who thinks that they’ll be unemployed with a Master’s Degree?
But yet here I am. Under qualified for most of the jobs out there and I’m not connected enough for the jobs I’m overqualified for. And at the time in my life where I’m supposed to be gaining the experience for those jobs, I can’t find work. But I can find bills from Sallie Mae. Oy.
Besides, this is an opus against Sallie Mae. The federal government at least understands that this is a terrible economic climate and many people my age who went to college are either unemployed or underemployed and so I can defer my loans every 6 months until that hopefully changes.
But, oh no, not Sallie Mae! If you’re unemployed, then tough shit because you have to start paying them back anyway. I asked them when they were calling me every day about my defaulting loans where I was supposed to get the money to pay them back since I wasn’t working, and they told me in the most unsympathetic voice possible that they didn’t give a fuck – they just wanted their money.
(FYI for those who hate outsourced call centers: DO NOT CALL SALLIE MAE! In an extended sequence that both amused and elicited empathy from some of my fellow interns, I called customer service to ask a question and not only got people who spoke with really think Indian accents, but got people with really thick Indian accents that didn’t understand what the hell I was talking about. I just finally kept asking to speak with a supervisor until I got someone in the United States who I could understand and could explain the issue at hand.)
But since they started to not only threaten my credit but also Mike’s since he cosigned one of my loans, I had to start paying them on an extremely extended schedule. Luckily my already broke parents (who are attempting to save for their retirement themselves) are splitting my loan payments until I can get a job. But that’s pretty much it. I still intern three days a week, which means that I have to pay for transportation (which isn’t cheap in the Chicagoland area since the state is broke – and my lack of money is the reason why I don’t go in more often which may be keeping me from advancing faster). I also have to pay for my cell phone. Oh, and I do like eat occasionally. Luckily Mike doesn’t mind when I occasionally go into his wallet. I could really use my tax return right now but my mom is a selfish, inconsiderate bitch (long story) so I can’t get it until sometime in April. Le sigh.
I willingly admit that I am not completely blameless in my situation. I did not read/understand completely what I was signing on to. I did not know that they didn’t have any deferment options unless you were in school, medical residency/training (which is technically still school) and I think one other option that I don’t qualify for. But the reason I was so flippant with my financial future is because I thought that I would graduate with a job – or at least not have to wait very long before I started a position. I mean, when you spend your life constantly being told that the key to being successful is a good education, who thinks that they’ll be unemployed with a Master’s Degree?
But yet here I am. Under qualified for most of the jobs out there and I’m not connected enough for the jobs I’m overqualified for. And at the time in my life where I’m supposed to be gaining the experience for those jobs, I can’t find work. But I can find bills from Sallie Mae. Oy.
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