go to the trivia night. it sounds like fun. and if you meet one or two people that is nice to talk to ...so much the better.

Or am I missing something?

I'm not sure that you are missing anything - that is in the long run the way part of it will go. but, Susan is a planner.She likes plans. And there will be kids , or at least one. So a little more planning can make things easier. Plus - this is fun

Oooh! Amelia Earhart biopic!

You know what I'd be really (irrationally) tempted to do if I had a sum of money I was planning to spend in five years on a trip to a foreign country? Invest just that trip fund in bonds or a savings account or something in that currency. Why is that irrational? Because if you were not planning to do high risk currency speculation anyway, the risk of currency losses potential for currency gains is exactly the same regardless of whether you planned to ultimately make expenditures in that currency. And yet the irrational part of me would saying "you are planning to spend in euros. Invest in euros."

Of course, the danger in the other direction is to plan this thing in such specific and regimented detail that I'm DEVASTATED if some setback alters my plans. But I'm slowly learning to balance my wild swings between under-planning and over-planning.

Susan, from everything I've heard about extended travel in Europe, the single biggest chunk will be the trip over there and back. Once you're there, in most places you can get by quite cheaply day to day. Obviously this isn't quite as true about the bigger cities, like London or Paris, but you're money should be able to go a long way.

As far as setting money aside for it, put away enough to pay for plane fare now, plus that again just in case. That should reasonably cover your flight when the time comes. Then once a year or so between now and then, put in enough for plane fare for the trip again. By the time the trip rolls around, you'll not only be able to pay for the ticket, you'll have quite a bit of spending money while you're there.

Disclaimer: This financial advice is given free of charge. Caveat emptor. I give no guarantees about the US economy kerploding or not kerploding.

Also Susan, wherever possible, err on the side of under-planning your trip. Your planny tendencies will manage to keep enough of the trip planned to give it the structure it needs, and you'll thank yourself for under-planning later, when the vagaries of travel come up and throw a wrench in things.

I'm thinking about taking some of that $600 federal check I get sometime in the next week and possibly sending some to various charities/favorite websites (including here!). It all depends on if I have to take my cat back to the vet next week (she's got a lump on her back that might just be from her shots last week but it's got me worried, so I've made an appointment for payday next week and will keep it if the swelling doesn't go away) and if so, how much it'll cost me for the appointment and if there's anything more serious involved.

I'd like to be able to send even $10-20 to a few different places, but who knows if I can swing it.

ugg. So, free dinner that I was sticking around for. Ya. Not for staff. For "visiting dignitaries and guest artists". Nice. I only work here. I guess the cost of Baja Fresh for an extra 30 people is too much to ask for from this place. : head-desk :

At least I got some paperwork & planning shit done. Maybe I need to play some 1st-person shooter games tonight & this weekend.

That's just shitty o_a.

ya. Just another example of why I need to follow Erin's example and leave this place. The last 2 weeks or so, my apathy has hit new levels.

IanotherCleaningCanKillYouStory - I've been good. I limited what I did today Rest alot so my lungs got to rest and the asthma symptoms stayed low. I had to vacuum. Not good for asthma - but somethings have to be done. Today, the vacuum bag failed. So good to breathe in that extra dust.