Economics 101

Most people don't realize this, but one of the world's best introductory Economists happens to also be a rock star. That's right children, our good friend Professor Mick Jagger is going to teach you everything you need to know about opportunity cost, supply and demand, and needs and wants- so buckle your seat belts and away we go!

"You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might find you get what you need."

Let's start at the beginning, shall we? First, we have needs, and we have wants. Most people actually don't understand the difference between the two. Take for example the girl overheard outside of Louis Vuitton, "but I need that adorable Sistina bag!" Sorry to burst your bubble dear, but in actuality you do not need that bag, but rather, you want it. You may want it more than you want to eat for the next three months, but since you won't actually die without that bag on your arm, we can clearly mark it off of your list of "needs". Needs are very simple- the things you have to have to survive on a day to day basis, like food, water, or perhaps (depending on the weather or where you live) shelter. Wants? If it isn't completely obvious to you yet, it's those other things you don't have to have to survive but would really like to have.

You also can't have everything you want or need. It's actually impossible, and it's called the law of supply and demand. You see, there is only so much out there: so much time, so much money, etc. Unfortunately, there just aren't enough resources to do everything you want or need to do all the time. For instance: I have to go to work, but I want to go to the movies today too. I only have six hours left in the day, and I have to work five of those... I could decide to go to the movie and not go to work, but if I do that then I probably won't be able to fulfill all my needs (food, water, shelter, etc.). Clearly, I'm going to have to decide which means more to me: having a job (and the money that comes with it) or going to a movie today.

Opportunity cost goes hand in hand with these two little lessons- it's the price I pay for giving up the option I didn't choose. So, if I chose to go to the movie today, I gave up the money I would have made at work (and I probably got fired too). If I go to work, I can't go see the movie today. Decisions, decisions.

I was listening to "You can't always get what you want" today, and it really resonated with me. Lately, I feel like I've had two equally awful options to pick from no matter what's going on in my life. I can work, or I can do what I want for the holidays. Clearly, if I go where I want to go, I won't get to work, and I'm probably going to get fired. But, if I don't go, I'm going to miss out on a lot of fun and a chance to make some great memories. I can buy a camera that I'm very interested in, or I can keep paying off my student loans (both of which are important to me). I consider myself a fun-loving person, and while having fun is very important to me, I feel like at this time in my life I have to buckle down a bit more to get to a place where I can have fun on a more regular basis. Oh the tough decisions in life!

Professor Jagger- thank you for your ability to parse words in such an eloquent manner. Especially when it comes to explaining to people that sometimes they can have what they want, and sometimes they can have what they need... but you just can't have it all.

So it's been a while...

Okay, okay I'm guilty of neglecting my blog, I admit it. But, there is some good news to go along with that!

Drumroll please...

I got a job!

I'm working at a local insurance agency at their front desk doing billing, filing, and pretty much anything else that comes my way (which is a lot... I'm frequently swimming in a sea of paperwork).

And as you all may know, ASU lost to Georgia this past weekend. To this, I say, BENCH DANNY SULLIVAN... that loss was ridiculous and should not have happened. ASU better make quick work of Oregon State this week.

Penny found a new toy a couple of weeks ago.

I gave this little football to Joe in his stocking at Christmas this past year, and had completely forgotten about it until I was doing some unpacking from the garage two weeks ago and found it in a box. Then, Penny came out to the garage to "check up on me" (she really does that... it's funny) and found the football. They've been virtually inseparable since. Perhaps Penny is as big of an ASU fan as her mommy?

In other puppy news...

Meet Eleanor Rigby!!

Okay so we won't be calling her by her full name usually, mostly just Ellie, but next weekend we'll be calling this little lady ours! Ellie's mom was dumped in a nice neighborhood in Pace. We're told she was wandering the neighborhood for two weeks, trying to get into people's houses. People must have been feeding her, because she didn't look emaciated.

Our neighbor's coworker Cheryl was nice enough to take her in, and then discovered she was going to have some babies! Ellie is one of eight adorable puppies. Her mommy is a pitbull that they call Gloria, and her daddy was a Black lab (or at least that's what the veterinarian believes). We're so happy she's going to come home with us!

I. am. nervous!

Quick recap:

I haven't been able to find decent work down here in Pensacola, as of yet. This weekend was our (the boyfriend and I) friend's birthday, so we joined her out on Saturday. When we got there, we met a couple of her friends and her roommate. After a while, we ended up talking about my lack of employment when the roommate asked me what my qualifications were. "Well, I've served for five years, so I have a lot of customer service experience, and I have a bachelor's degree." Roommate was keenly interested in the fact that I had my degree, since that's the requirement at her work for a management position. I'd also previously worked for a branch of this company before, so I know it really well and am very comfortable with the idea of working for them again, so I was super interested (not to mention the fact that it's an actual living, breathing job with benefits and pretty good pay).

There's just one problem.

They run a background check. And it's not even that I have bad credit (I don't) or have a criminal record (no way Jose). I'm just afraid what a couple of my former employers are saying about me. You see, over the last two years I haven't had the best of luck with jobs, and they haven't worked out quite well, despite the hard work put in on my behalf. I'm truly afraid that anything that someone may say about me (because theoretically, anything could be in there) may be misconstrued or even an inaccurate representation of my work ethic (and ethics in general). I know I'm honest (to a fault) and a very hard worker. I care about others, and I thrive when I know exactly what is expected of me (and those I'm working with).

The harsh reality is, if I don't get this job (or at least another pretty much immediately), I will probably need to go back to Arizona (or California) to find work. This means being across the country from boyfriend again, and I do not want to have to do that. So for all of you readers, your prayers and good thoughts are greatly appreciated, and I will be sure to let you all know either way what the outcome of all this is.

September 11 2001: what I remember

I was 16 years old on September 11 2001.

I remember waking up a little later than usual (but still, rather early for most kids) to get ready for school since I didn't have morning workout for Water Polo that morning, and my dad telling me that a plane had flown into the World Trade Center. At first, I thought it was a huge mistake, a gruesome accident that would have the FAA up in arms against an airline; when I found out that my hypothesis was wrong I wished even harder that I had originally been right, because I knew that this horrible event now had much larger implications. I will never forget watching television that morning, seeing footage of a beautiful, clear sky in New York City being disrupted by a horrid chain of events. Forever etched in my mind are the images of the second plane hitting the towers and later, people jumping to their deaths from many stories up.

I did go to school that day, but I couldn't tell you one thing that I learned in any of my classrooms. Instead, the only distinct memory I have of that day was sitting in Mr. Moon's fourth period Biology class, watching CNN. For the first time in my generation, war was waged within our borders. It amazed me how badly I wanted to quit watching the news coverage, but it was as though I was magnetized and I just couldn't bear to turn it off.

For a few weeks, even months, after the attacks, I noticed a spirit of patriotism I had never before seen (and doubt that I will see again), but over time it began to fade- as though our wound began to heal. It's still hard for me to think that our children won't ever quite fathom the events of that day.

Whatever your view on politics, war, or religion, I ask that we all take a moment to thank those who serve to protect us as we are reminded of the many that lost their lives that day in such a senseless act. To the policemen, firemen, and military who work to make our country safe, I thank you.

Welcome to my humble abode...

For those of you who personally know me, you know the boyfriend bought his first house down here in Pensacola.  This has been quite the adventure as the house was a foreclosure (hello savings).  When escrow finally closed (read: about a month late thanks to some new mortgage requirements enacted at the last minute), we hit the ground running doing all sorts of demolition  which included removing an awkward den at the front of the house and thus creating more of a "great room" feel to the house.  Unfortunately, progress has slowed down quite a bit since then, due to the fact that things cost more than we anticipated and I also can't find a job.  However, this weekend we picked things back up again and got a little more done.  Here, you can see a few "before and mid" style pictures (mid, because things clearly aren't completely done yet, so it's definitely not time for "after")...

Hello, little house in Florida!  And hello Frank and Mary!  (Frank and Mary were Boyfriend's realtors and completely fantastic throughout the entire process- we highly recommend them!)

Welcome to the entry way to the house, also known as the "entry way of epic proportions."  Look carefully and you'll notice four kinds of flooring within five square feet.  Interesting, no?

Here we spy boyfriend and two of his friends removing everything left from demolishing the random "den" room.  Just to the right of them is the front door.  Ladies: if the guy in the middle looks appealing to you, call me he's single!

Kitchen before.  Note gold knobs and fantastic (not) veneer cabinets.  Unfortunately, there's no way those are going to get replaced before this house gets sold or rented out in a few years.  Otherwise, there would be a pretty awesome kitchen standing before you!

Other than the fact that the ceilings were scraped, the oven is back in its appropriate place, and the entire room is cleaner in general, this is essentially what the kitchen looks like right now.  Our fridge is still in the garage, I don't feel like moving it in, back out when we tile, and back in when it's all done.   If you look closely, you'll see there is an absolute ton of quick-set left from the old flooring.  Boyfriend has to rent a special machine to grind it up before he can lay any of the new tile.

Master Bathroom- Before.  Notice the fantastic green marble-y linoleum.  There were also FIVE towel rods throughout the bathroom- a little bit of overkill if you ask me.  Like most of the house, was painted a dreary gray color that wasn't too bad at first glance but got depressing over time.  Also notice the fifth type of flooring seen within the house.

More before bathroom- and yes that is a jacuzzi tub (a big selling point!) and Boyfriend's closet.

Woohoo!  A painted bathroom!

I definitely like this color a LOT more than the gray.  The trim and door still need to be painted, and the hinge is going to be changed out (like all the other metal items in the house) to an oiled bronze, so I'm really excited for the way that will look.

This is probably the most entertaining change in the house- it came with a pink bedroom (that housed our sixth different type of flooring).  It was, to put it nicely, violently pink.  So pink it made us want to gouge our eyes out!  Rest in peace, pink bedroom.

Isn't it just lovely?

Here is said pink room, minus the fantastic fake wood flooring.  If you look carefully on the right side of the picture, you'll notice that the closet doors had even been painted pink (I'm still trying to cover the pink up on them).

The pink bedroom now.  Although it isn't pink anymore (and is the ONE room in the house that is pretty much finished, minus closet doors) we still refer to it as "the pink bedroom."  In fact, I'm pretty sure we always will...

The super dreary master bedroom, gray in color.  It was also very hot in here frequently, so in addition to painting, scraping the ceilings, and changing the carpet, we added a really nice Hampton Bay fan.  It keeps things a lot cooler

The master bedroom on carpet installation day (one of my favorite days so far).  We had finished painting the walls, ceiling, and trim, and had already added the ceiling fan and blinds making it a lot more inviting.

There is still a lot to be done, so expect to see another post full of house pictures really soon!

Not that this is any of my business...

I really don't mind that the Duggar Family of Tontitown, Arkansas is expecting their 19th child.  Yes, I just said 19th (and unless you live under a rock I'm pretty sure you should be well aware of the grandiose size of their family).  Let's examine the facts, shall we?

They're really pro-life, which led them to be cool with however many kids they end up with.  None of the Duggar children have special needs.  The family has lived debt-free for quite some time, so they don't need any help from the Government.  Financially, they've been doing just fine even before television cameras decided they wanted to document parts of their lives.  Unlike some other shows about large families, I don't get the feeling that they are the kind of family that are into exploiting their kids.  Rather, it appears that they have chosen to do their television show mainly to share their beliefs and their lives with others out there, which is cool too.  It would seem that they are doing the television thing for all the right reasons, wouldn't it?  Michelle knows how to formulate a tight budget and stick to it, even making her own laundry detergent from a Borax base.

Plus, they really, genuinely like each other.  I mean have you ever seen such a happy family (especially one that big)?  They get along, aside from the occasional small squabble, and help one another.  While some might knock their "buddy system" (where the older siblings help care for the younger), I gave it some thought and really find it refreshing.  Let's compare, shall we?  Perhaps you have two kids, and both of the parents work, so the kids have to go to daycare or a babysitter (not that there is anything at all wrong with that).  Take into account the Duggars, where mom is at home with the kids, homeschooling, and the older siblings help take care of the younger.  While that might rub some people the wrong way, I have to say, at least they are all together and it's family caring for family.  In the end it seems to make them all much more tightly-knit, which is respectable.

Let's even look at their oldest, Josh, who just married Anna.  He started his own business, he's taking care of his wife and together they're looking forward to their first child.  So far, he seems pretty level-headed, and while that isn't a perfect indicator, it usually gives us a good idea what the others may be like when they themselves grow up.  

So many people seem to want to ask, "why?" when it comes to the size of their family and the approach they take to its size.  They aren't hurting anyone, they aren't getting in anyone else's way or prohibiting someone else's freedoms... so even if it's a life you can't quite understand, or not quite your personal cup of tea, why judge them?  When I think about the Duggars, I just have one question: why not?

A fork in the road.

Yes, pageants.  I like them.  As fake and phony as some contestants may be (and I will keep names out of this) there are many who truly are genuine and wonderful people in their own right.  The Miss America Organization (you know, the one that has the talent competition?) awards tons of scholarships annually, allowing many women to go to college nearly for free (or at least reducing much of the cost for them).  Over the years, they've gone from being a bathing-beauty contest on the shores of Atlantic City, New Jersey, to a pageant that strongly identifies itself as a "scholarship organization" and is now located out of Las Vegas, Nevada.

Then you have the Miss USA pageant, which was created after Miss America 1955 Yolanda Betbeze didn't want to appear in a swimsuit after she won.  Sponsor Catalina Swimwear was so upset that they created the Miss USA pageant the next year, which counted equally in thirds swimwear, evening gown and interview- no talent competition.  Ownership has changed over the years, from Catalina to CBS to Donald Trump Miss USA was created specifically seeking beauty, and that is one thing that has stood the test of time.

So why all this talk about pageants?  Well, as with all nearly things, there comes a time when one becomes too old to continue participating in something (or just moves past it).  I am standing at a point in life where I am about to "age out" from Miss pageants.  I'm already too old to compete for any local, state, or national Miss America title, however, I still have two years left before I age out of Miss USA.  This realization has left me wondering- do I want to compete again?  Should I?  And most importantly, how would I afford it?

I competed in two Miss America local preliminary pageants when I was 17 and 18, but at that time I was young and didn't really understand what it takes to do well.  Now, I'm 24 and really think that I not only understand what it is that I would need to do to win but that I could do it.  Which leaves me here, wondering if it's reasonable, feasible to compete one more time.  I won't lie, I've always wanted to be the one to have her name called out as the winner.  To me, it's a testament that you can put your effort into something and succeed- really bring your "A" game.  But the economy is tough, and I don't even have a job- so I am stuck trying to weigh that against going out to local businesses and looking for sponsorships when I should probably just be looking for work (to which I then consider how hard I have been looking for work and yet not finding any).  

I have a decision to make, and while I'm not able to decide quite yet, just know that you may be seeing more on this later!