Make This a Chapter in My Book...

Growing up, everytime I had a good, philosphical thought, I'd shout "Make this a chapter in my book!" Well, it certainly is not a book, but it's close enough.

I've decided to document via blog all the random concepts I've come up with over the years. Having turned 21 not more than two weeks ago, I'm pretty much ready to take on the world - blog style. I really tried to fit in to the "my boyfriend dumped me, and I got a great deal on this plus I just sewed an entire wardrobe" world of blogging, but that didn't go over too well.

These posts are loaded with random (sometimes useless) facts that you can hopefully gather inspiration from! ...or atleast, a conversation starter or two. Give it a read, so that you won't be tempted to judge the "proverbial" book by its cover... or in this case, the "proverbial" blog by its URL.

Chapter 14: Bah Humbug!

Per my previous chapter entitled "Company Christmas Party"... I have some slightly upsetting news to say the least. I've recently received this via the company email account....

Yes, an e-mail detailing the dress-code for the Christmas party as business casual. Now, at most companies in the Washington D.C. area, this wouldn't be too traumatizing. People would just tone down their christmas party ball gowns to something a little more appropriate... ie, my adorable, pink, cocktail dress. But it just so happens, I work at the world's OLDEST government contracting firm where the old people wear their old Christmas sweaters... you know, the one's that have the 12 days of Christmas knitted across them completed with a light-up christmas tree and the 12 reign deer?? Yeah. Those ones.

Still upset by this recent turn of events. Who is this "bah-humbug" scrooge who changed the dress code this year any ways!? I'll tell you who... it's that old women with the 24 yr-old running collection of knitted Christmas sweaters, that's who!

Alas, since I may not be wearing the adorable dress with lacey tights and patent leather black stilettos and matching clutch, I might as well count the number of over-sized ugly Christmas sweaters I see running around the party. *sighs* Who knows, maybe I'll even be able to snap a few creeper pics for your enjoyment... it's the least I can do!

Read More 3 comments | Posted by HMiracle

Chapter 13: A Forbes Christmas

How Much Money You'd Save By Skipping Christmas
Katie Adams, 12.07.09, 04:17 PM EST
Skipping holidays could help shore up finances.

"...So how much money could you save by skipping Christmas this year? And what could you do with it instead? Let's take a look.

Gifts

The single biggest category of Christmas spending is gifts. This year the National Retail Federation projects that spending on gifts will drop only slightly, after a dramatic decrease of over 30% during the 2008 holiday season. Last year the average American spent the following:

Family members: $431
Themselves: $119.82
Friends: $94.52
Miscellaneous: $43.50
Co-workers: $26.70
[Gifts] Total: $750.68

According to the annual Gallup poll on holiday spending, last year's spending on gifts was down from a high of $862 in 2005. So if you choose to forgo all the gift-giving, you'll pocket, on average, approximately $750.68.

Christmas Tree

Entrepreneurs began selling the ubiquitous Christmas tree commercially in the U.S. in 1850. Today, whether you choose to venture into one of the nation's 12,000 cut-your-own Christmas tree farms or pick up a pre-cut one at your local hardware store, a real tree will set you back approximately $41.50.

Cards and Postage

Despite the advent of eCards, sending handwritten cards by snail mail is a long-standing tradition that is not going to die quickly. The average American family spent $32.43 on cards and postage to mail Christmas notes in 2008.

Flowers

While spending on Christmas flowers doesn't come close to Valentine's Day or Mother's Day, families still spend an average of $22.61 on holiday floral arrangements, poinsettias, etc.

Food and Candy

Christmas is a celebration, and celebrating in America requires food. However, the National Retail Federation found that Americans only cited spending $95.04 specifically on holiday food and candy in 2008. If that number sounds low to you, maybe the Information Resource Inc. holiday poll results reflect your spending--they reported that 94% of survey respondents plan on limiting their holiday food budget to $500 and 90% are planning on spending no more than $200 on holiday beer, wine and spirits.

Decorations

Decking the halls isn't free. On top of your Christmas tree cost, if you're like the average American, you're looking at spending in the neighborhood of $51.43 on tinsel, lights and ornaments.

Travel

Traveling to be with family and friends over the holidays can easily become the largest budget item for a family's holiday spending. According to a 2008 Maritz poll surveying Americans about their holiday travel plans and spending, respondents earning between $35,000–250,000 who chose to travel spent an average of $960.50.

Adding It Up

Choosing to pass on Christmas could save your family a pretty penny--just about $1,000 (if you weren't planning to travel) and nearly $2,000 if you normally travel but choose to stay at home this year.

Now that you've saved nearly $1,000, it's time to put that money to work. Here are some ideas for what you can do with your new savings:

--Open a high-yield checking account. Royal Bank of Missouri is offering new account holders a high-yield checking account paying an attractive 4.30% APY. Invest your $993.69 and if you meet their terms, including 10 point of sale debit transactions and at least one monthly automatic payment, you could wind up with $1,036.42--if you keep at least that initial amount invested.

--Invest in a CD. If you invested that money in a 12-month CD paying 2.10% APY through ING ( ING - news - people ) Direct (that provides FDIC insurance), you would earn $21 for a total of $1,014.56 toward creating an emergency savings fund or accumulating some cash for next year's holiday expenses.

--Start a high-yield savings account. By depositing that money in a savings account offering 2.25% APY with SFGI Direct, the online division of Summit Community Bank, you would have $1,016.05 this time next year.

--Pay down high-interest rate credit card debt. If you're not paying off your credit card balance in full each month using that $993.69 (or $1954.19) to at least pay it down--or preferably pay it off completely--will save you money on interest and be viewed favorably by your credit card company.

Katie Adams is a freelance writer for Investopedia."

... hahaha! Maybe Scrooge had it right all along? Just kidding! Enjoy the Holidays, don't mind the budget or the diet, and have yourselves a Merry little Christmas :)

Read More 0 comments | Posted by HMiracle

Chapter 12: The Almighty Ebay

I'm addticted to Ebay. There, I said it. The first step to healing is admitting you have a problem, right? Baby steps... baby steee.... WHO AM I KIDDING?! Ebay is a freaking gold mine! Don't believe me?

Exibit A-Z:

Sold:

I had this collection of old/new coach purses that I for sure wasn't going to use. Small purses just don't have enough room to accomodate all the randomness I keep in my bag. (Which begs the question... what do i keep in my bag?!). SO, I started auctioning them off on ebay. This is just a ball-parked estimate, but 7 purses later and I'm pretty sure I pulled in around $500! FOR STUFF I WASN'T GOING TO USE!

Bought:

I recently purchased a 350Z silverstone with rare OEM chrome rims... (I bought the actual car from cars.com) Not only a weird color, but also weird rims. Anyways, I have this fetish of buying little versions of my cars, so I set off to find a mini Z to put on my office desk. EBAY to the RESCUE. And, not more than a foot from where I sit now, lies the exact replica of my Z, chrome rims and all... for a mere $18 bucks.

Sold:

I've recently gotten swept up into the smart phone craze... so I convinced myself my life would no longer be complete without a blackberry. I had the LG Dare which had zero scratches on it (I'm a protector of all things electronic) so i threw that bad boy up on ebay. Total sales? $280 BUCKS! Which made me brake even for the purchase of my new BB Tour. And yeah, I'm cool now.

Bought:

I've never told my ex-boyfriend this... but here goes. He bought be a really pricey $300 bulova watch (it was NOT cute... FML) so I figured I should return the favor. NOW, before i go off sounding like a cheap tight-wad, I usually paid for most dates since I was the only one with an actual job :P... So i wasn't about to spend another $300 bucks on a freaking watch! Where to turn?! EBAY... and i'll swear it's authentic... but an Emporio Armani Watch for $80 bucks?! Ok, so maybe it isn't authentic, but the Ex never figured that out ;) (PS... i'm planning to auction off that ugly watch he bought me too! whahaha)

I've actually bought/sold a ton on ebay! And just today, I've listed two more coach purses! I'll update you all in 7 days from now when the auction ends.... It's a GREAT IDEA for some extra christmas money!

Ebayers UNITE!

Read More 0 comments | Posted by HMiracle

Chapter 11: Why...

Why do I find it so offensive that a select few of my facebook friends didn't wish me happy 21st birthday?? I mean, Common' people! It's written on your freaking homepage! It's not like I was asking for your other kidney and a pony!

What has social networking done to us.... lol!

Read More 2 comments | Posted by HMiracle

Chapter 10: Back to my Roots

LITERALLY!

After almost two solid years of bleached blonde hair and five years of hair coloring experiments, I've finally returned to my natural brunette roots. OMG to say the least.

So, what caused such a dramatic change, you ask? Well, my sister blogs and throws up pics of us on her blog all the time. One of her blog friends commented that she'd seen me at the mall on Black Friday (yes it was me at the mall.... cuz where else is there to be on Black Friday!?).

So this random girl whom I've never even met can pick me out of a huge crowd.... because of my hair?! And I have a feeling it wasn't because my hair was looking gorgeously natural either.

For the past year or so, my sister and mother and grandmother and aunt and.... you get the point, have been asking me to dye it back. My response: no no no no no.

And then, yesterday, I had a bright idea.... why don't I surprise everyone and dye it back?!

2.5 hours later (yeah... I really didn't think it'd take that long either) and I'm BACK to BRUNETTE!

The change is pretty epic. My parents thought I was my evil twin sister who (long story made extremely short) we haven't seen in almost years. People in class I'd never even talked to were like WHOA! Haha, getting mixed reactions, but it's fine.... cuz paying $95 bucks every six weeks to get my roots fixed was not fine.

Soooo.... what'ya think?!

Read More 4 comments | Posted by HMiracle

Chapter 9: Discount Retailers - God's Gift to Man... Ok fine, Women

Last post was certainly a little wordy, I know, so I'll keep this one light.

Can I just say "OMG Discount Retailers"!? It's like stealing name brand candy from a cheap baby! Pardon my sucky analogy...

The company Christmas party is coming up shortly and since I'm not even joking when I say I'll be the youngest one there, I must pull out all the stops.
I decided on this adorable silky deep-pink cocktail dress from the Limited. Pretty much should be every working girl's favorite store.

Because I'd rather not look like the company whore, I've decided to go with some sort of furry jacket with 3/4 sleeves. But problem is, I totally cannot wear that all night! Not to mention my legs are completely bare...
So i hit up marshalls... Bought some printed/fishnet tights for $5! ...as opposed to the typical $10. But hey, it's not like tights have expiration dates so hell yes i'll take that deal!

I also found these shoes (well, heels.... but is there really any other kind of shoe?!). Ok, so i cannot find a picture of "these shoes" but description: Lace on metallic orange-ish (?), peep toe, 3.5 in. Basically, i'm not sure if it's a match or if I'll just go with some plain black patent leather heels....

Finally, I'll need to find a wristlet that will hold more than a credit card. Common' people! We're women of the 21st century! We have BLACKBERRY'S we need to keep on us at all times!

Anyways, wish me luck :D

Read More 1 Comment | Posted by HMiracle

Chapter 8: Meh...

So I found this job offer on craigslist posted by some commercial real estate agent looking for an assistant to train who currently has a part-time job... I guess by "to train" she meant "someone who has been in commercial real estate for years..." Obviously, I don't fit that bill. Meh....

Regardless, here's the email correspondance including her ad that was somewhat misleading (I think.... but i could just be holding a grudge). Not to fear! Won't/haven't given up yet.... next is meeting with an agent friend of my father's who can hopefully point me in the right direction. Well, at least i hope he can point me in any direction, really.

Craigslist Ad: (and for the record, yes... I think Craigslist is the epitome of sketchy) ... i added my own thoughts in [bold brackets] ;)

"Love Retail? Commercial Real Estate Agent Seeks Licensed Assistant...

Do you like the real estate industry but don't want to sell houses? Do you spend a lot of time out and about in the retail marketplace? Do you follow business openings and closings? Then commercial real estate may be a good fit for you.

I am a commercial real estate agent who specializes in helping businesses find commercial space. I’m looking for a licensed assistant [just fyi, I'm about to sign up for classes] to work with my clients to lease and buy space, primarily in Alexandria and Arlington. You’ll get to impact commerce in these areas by helping to decide which new businesses will open. You'll be working with new businesses plus businesses that are expanding, opening new locations, or moving.

I'll provide all the clients and will teach you the ropes. You can work primarily from home, but we will meet clients in one of my offices (usually in Old Town or Arlington). This is a daytime position, so no evenings or weekends are required. If necessary, you can have Mondays off. Please note: this is a commission-based job, so it's crucial that you are able to pay your living expenses (or have a part-time job) while you're starting out. [Part time job - check. Living expenses - check.]

You must have a Virginia real estate license (or be getting it soon) [SEE! I saaaaid I'd be getting one soon!]. A D.C. real estate license is also nice but not required. Major real estate experience is not necessary, so newly licensed agents are welcome [coughs]. However, since the focus of my business is commercial, you must be willing to learn and specialize in commercial real estate. Image and excellent communication skills are key. You must present a sophisticated, modern, and put-together image while being able to relate to lots of different types of people. [not trying to brag, by I've gotten many-a-compliment on my appearance in my day...]

Either send me a resume or provide a description of your relevant skills, job history, and experience. Be sure to tell me about your interest in the retail industry and how you're active in local commerce. I look forward to hearing from you!"

My Response:

"Hello,

I just finished reading your ad on craigslist with regards to an assistant position for a commercial real estate agent. The position described really interests me.

I am currently working part-time at G.D. in the IT/Finance department, but I would really like to focus more on commercial real estate. As stated in the ad, you would prefer someone with a part-time job so maybe this could work out nicely.

I currently do not have a real estates license, but I would certainly not be opposed to getting one as soon as possible. I am very willing to learn and would love to have an experienced someone to teach me the ropes.

Reply if you are interested in learning more about what I do, and maybe we could see where it goes from there.

Thanks for your time,
H Miracle"

...hey, I thought it coulda been a scam. Give me a break.

Her Response to My Response:

"Hi H Miracle,

Thanks for your email about the licensed commercial real estate assistant position. I am interested in finding out a little more about your background and interests.

Have you looked into any real estate licensing courses? For your Virginia license, you would be required to complete a 60-hour course then pass the state exam. How quickly would you be willing to do this?

Do you have any interest and/or experience in the retail sector?

How well do you know Arlington and Alexandria? How much time would you say you spend there, and do you keep up with new stores, restaurants, and general retail development in these areas?

Are you involved at all in local small business organizations, economic development groups, or chambers of commerce? This is a major source of my clients, so it would be very beneficial to have someone else on my team who can network with some of these groups (particularly in or near Arlington and Alexandria).

Let me know about the above items. Hopefully we can talk more this week or after Thanksgiving weekend.

Take care, and happy Thanksgiving!
Anne"

Holy - crap - load - of - questions! Anyways, here's my attempted response..... meh...

My Attempt at a Response:

"Anne,

So sorry for the delay! It is great to hear back from you.

Now to answer some of your questions - Yes, I have looked into real estate licensing courses through Allied online educational classes. I’ve contacted a representative and the only remaining step it to pay for the actual course. To be honest, I am not very familiar with commercial real estate or how extensive the course may be, but I am a quick learner and I doubt a 60-hour class would take long to complete.

I am actually planning to meet with an agent who is a friend of my father either this week or next so that I can gather as much information as possible before signing up for the class. The meeting will hopefully better prepare me for the classes.

With regards to the retail sector, I have actually not had experience in things such as retail sales if that is what you are referring to. I am, however, always interested in that market.

I spend most of my time in Fairfax and McLean between classes and the part-time job at GDIT. My father actually owns a high-end Kitchen and Bath remodeling company and they have recently purchased a building in the Falls Church/Alexandria area. I occasionally help out with marketing for his company so I will definitely be spending more time out in those areas and as a result I hope to frequent many of the near-by venues.

Aside from connections via my father, I do not think I participate in any of the organizations listed; however, I enjoy any chance to network and attempt to do so as often as possible.

I hope I was able to answer as much of your questions as possible. I would certainly like to hear your feedback!

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving break!"

Hey, I thought it wasn't too bad!

And Here's Anne's Response - lettin' me down nice 'n easy *sigh*

"Hi Heather,
I hope you had a happy Thanksgiving! Thanks for getting back to me about my questions. It sounds like you have a lot of interesting things going on and are quite busy!

I have been talking with a few people in the past week and am meeting with 2 candidates this week. They would be a better fit for my business right now because they have been active in the real estate market for a number of years. [Um.... so what happened to the "no experience required"!?] They are transitioning from the residential to the commercial sector but have had some experience with commercial transactions. They're looking to do real estate full-time and are already licensed in Virginia and the District, so they would be able to start doing licensed activities for my clients right away. While I am not at all opposed to training someone from the ground up, given the option of taking on an experienced agent, it would be more advantageous for me to work with someone who is licensed and more established in the field. [Bitch doesn't know what she's missin' ;) i kid, i kid.]

Do you want me to get back to you in case it doesn't work out with one of these candidates? [Um.] I know you're busy now and I don't want to waste your time, but I'm happy to keep in touch in case things change on my end. Let me know. [I thought she ended it well, and i'll more than likely keep in touch... who knows! I'm not one to burn bridges]

Thanks again for your email, and enjoy the rest of the week!
Anne"

So, I actually found this kind of embarrassing to post. I really do hate rejection, but I said I'd keep ya'll posted and here I am, keeping my word. I looked the chick up on Linkedin and take heart in knowing she's not even that cute.... lol. Let's hope this next guy has some enlightening information I may be able to pass on.

Either way, I really just need to sign up for the dumb real estate class! Daddy dearest is holding me back for whatever reason (reason probably has something to do with him wanted me to spend the rest of my life at the "great opportunity job" I do not enjoy). We shall see!

Goals:

Meet with Commercial Agent.
Sign up for Classes
Take over World.

Read More 3 comments | Posted by HMiracle

My Book

Why?

Why you ask? Not sure. I've always wanted to write down the randomness I think of, and even more so I would love to see who agrees with me and the other alternatives to my ideas.

Because?

Because