Money In My Pocket

Family Sick Leave

I did not realize that my company would offer paid leave, but they do. I understood that I would not obtain vacation until a year of accrued work time. I also knew I would have twenty hours of sick leave for any purpose. Obviously full benefits are only offered to full time employees. The biggest shocker was that I have a week worth of family sick leave. A couple male co-workers have joked how they us this week’s worth for maternity leave when their wife had a baby. I honestly thought I would never use this week of leave. It really touched me that I could escape work with the week’s pay and attend to family issues dealing with my father’s stroke.

This stroke took our family by surprise. Our family has come together and will persevere. So many things have crossed my mind. Our family is starting to consider a few things that I thought would at least be another fifteen or twenty years down the road. The doctors say recovery could take anywhere from three to twelve months. Thank goodness my father has a good injury insurance plan. We are still cutting immediate expenses where it is warranted. I am glad that I have a job and will be able to support myself. From there, all we can do is pray for a full recovery and take one day at a time.

 

Spring Break

I have never gone on the traditional college student spring break.  Being as pale as I am, it is never a good idea for me to spend ridiculous amounts of time in the sun.  My first college spring break I worked while at home, and the previous two years I stayed at school for several days working then went home for the rest of the time.  This year, I decided to spend some time with my family because I so rarely get to do that.  I visited both sets of grandparents, spent some time at home, and even managed to see an aunt and uncle.  Though I was not making money this year, it was good to be able to spend time with people I love.  I had a bit of school work to do, but overall it was a good break and I did not work too much.  I guess because I am going to law school I will have three more spring breaks in my life.  Wonder what I will do with them.

Law School

One of the things I kept hearing at law school preview days is about how you are not allowed to work while in your first year of law school because of how demanding it is, and really most people do not work during the second and third years.  This is balanced by the fact that you make a relatively large amount of money during the summer, but because I can’t hold a job during the school year, I am going to again have to rely on a bit of my parents’ financial support for the next three years, with the most support coming during this coming academic year.  While I was excited to break free on my own, I know that things will be tight with just financial aid and loans to rely on.  I will still need their help.  They have been really great and understanding about this (while I am sure it was a shock for them to learn that I would not be able to work and would still be calling them to get money), and I have even gotten my dad’s promise to help move some of the old furniture from our attic to my new place when I find it.  I’m so glad that I will be able to count on them if I need some emergency money!

Employee Discounts

 I did not realize it until recently, but my company has established discounts for their employees at a wide variety of businesses. These businesses appreciate my company and desire a portion of the paychecks which my company sends to their employees. Not a bad ploy, offer discounts to entice purchases.

I am not interested in spending any frivolous money. Although, I will search the publications in case I find a deal that I cannot resist. I know there are discounts on refrigerators, home loans, and cars. All of which, I do not currently want or need. There are discounts on tickets, restaurants, and local museum admissions. I may or may not take advantage of these. If I have a basic knowledge of the items on the list, I could possibly save money on key purchases in the future. It might be beyond my authority to purchase items for friends, but I will investigate if I can be that friend I would like to have for some lucky person.

My Future

I have finally decided what I will do with my future.  I have decided to commit to going to law school, and have even decided which one.  While the decision was hard, it is only going to get harder from here.  They say that the first year of law school is a beast, but I think the preparation will be just as hard.  My spring break is coming up, and I have talked with my parents and we have agreed to take part of it and go to the city where I will spend my next three years to look at housing opportunities there.  I have lived on campus for all of my four undergraduate years, and it will be a new experience to look for someplace off-campus to live.  The law school was great to provide a packet of information about housing in the area, so I called one of the realtors they recommended and she has several places for me to look at lined up for when my family and I will be in town.  While I am totally clueless about what to look for, I am excited to make this next, more adult step in my life—not to mention look at what I hope are great places.

Get Fit

It is a couple months after the famous New Year’s resolutions, and most people have abandoned their half-hearted commitments. Now I have decided to fill the empty gym shoes that my neighbors have left at their door. I would not dare to touch their stinky shoes, but I will occupy their deserted trend mill, weights, and stretching pad in the apartment’s fitness complex.

I have always cared about my health and tried to make time for exercise. When I was shopping for a residence to call home, I did consider the availability and degree of fitness facilities. I knew I would be busy settling in during the first two months or so.

Now I have the desire to return to my pristine shape of high school athletic years. It is especially easier to obtain this goal while not fighting the New Year’s pledges and only walking a few yards to our miracle facility. I am excited that the facility is free of charge. I am not ignorant, because I know the facility is hidden somewhere in my rent. I am fine with that, because I have taken advantage of the amenity and will continue to use it.

Reimbursement

I am just now getting reimbursements that organizations owed me from last year.  While I am not too happy that it took the officers that long to get it to me, it is kind of like an unexpected gift now.  While it all totals to only around $40, that is a lot in my book, especially since I just put in my two week’s notice at work.  I can use that money as I would have used some of the money in my pay check.  I have deposited it into my checking/debit account and now must remember to save it until I no longer have a check coming in.  I guess that it is to be expected that when a student runs the finances of any organization, many other things come before simple reimbursements.  Running meetings, handling classes, and other extracurricular activities come first, so I am glad to finally get the checks. 

Phasing Off

After the training workshop for my on campus job, I gave my two week’s notice.  So two weeks from now, I will be finished with all my work responsibilities unless they have to call me in for some random help.  While I regret that I will not draw a paycheck for the last bit of school, I decided that I really need this time to devote to my final days here at school and preparation for the future.  For these last two weeks I will be trying to train another student worker to take on my role, which, since I have had this job since freshman year, is a bit more than just the average entry-level student job.  By moving up a current worker, all my boss will have to worry about is filling another entry-level position with a new student in the coming fall semester.  I really like the girl who will be taking over my position and hope she enjoys the work as much as I did.  I am really glad that I got an on campus job while in school because not only did it help me pick up some cash to help cover living expenses and tuition, but it also taught me to manage my time better and work in a more professional environment than I had ever worked before.  I know this experience will be something I rely on in my first real job out of college.

SB 09

It is that time of year again when college students roam the beaches like ants on a picnic blanket. One of the toughest things for me to accept this week is that fact that I will not have the week off. It is even more devastating when my friends are calling me with beach details. I would be right there with them if I was not in the real working world. Although, I do not have vacation benefits to exercise for beach leisure. I do plan to visit on the weekends though. I’ll just crash with my buddies in their overcrowded hotel rooms.

I do prefer the working world and everything it entails. With my amazing job, I am gaining an unbelievable large amount of experience. After I put in the time and work my way up in the company I should receive more vacation time and benefit opportunities. The tough part is that I should be in school with my friends and doing the academic thing. Now that I am working, I thoroughly appreciate the college life style. Working while friends enjoy the sand has definitely put everything in perspective.

 

Dinner

For one of the classes I am taking this semester, we have more work than I have ever done in a class.  It is the final course for my public relations major and requires group work for all grades and assignments.  I think I have mentioned before that I have a meal plan, but one of the only times our group can get together is during dinner time.  We have to meet in the computer lab because of all we have to type and design on the computer, and this means that I regularly miss dinner.  This is not good for efforts to eat healthy meal options or for efforts to try to keep money in my wallet.  Because I miss dinner sometimes I get something on the way back to my room or sometimes I just stock up when I am at the grocery store in order to have food in my room when I get back from our group meetings.  This is a fact of life I just did not plan for, but it is a necessary sacrifice in order to get a decent grade in this class.