Mishmash Musings

I’ve been working from home for three years now, and can’t imagine ever going back to a full-time office job. Yes, I still have a consulting position that requires me to be in an office two or three times per week, but that’s a far cry from being the paper pusher I once was. I don’t think I could handle 8-hour days of filing, typing, answering phone calls, providing quotes for life insurance rates, or dealing with angry customers.

Thank goodness my private business ventures are profitable enough to allow me to continue staying home for the time being!

I was looking through some 60 Minutes video clips from earlier this month, and saw a snippet from an interview with Bill Gates. The interview was about what Gates will do now that he has stepped down from his day-to-day role as CEO of Microsoft. Gates talked about how he’s going to focus his energies on the charitable foundation that he runs with his wife.

The interviewer also posed a question along the lines of what kind of untrue things have been written about Gates that really bothers him. Gates replied that one journalist was speculating about what kind of prenup Bill had Melinda sign before they got married, and went so far as to list clauses that were in the document.

Bill then said that he and Melinda never had a prenup, so the guy was full of crap.

I have to admit that I was surprised to hear that Bill and Melinda didn’t have a prenup, especially with that much money on the line. Or maybe that’s why Bill felt he didn’t need a prenup. After all, when you’re worth $40 or $50 billion, will your life be substantially different if you’re suddenly only worth $20 or $25 billion? Probably not!

I’ve been saying forever that I need to get some kind of investment portfolio going soon. I have nothing saved up for retirement (beyond my husband’s meager pension), so I’m very worried about what the future will bring.

Even so, I haven’t taken any steps to rectify the situation — mostly because I simply don’t have the money to do so. Sure, I wish I could afford to pay $500+ per share of the hottest tech stocks, but that’s impossible right now. I would barely even be able to create a decent portfolio of penny stocks, so I can definitely forget about all the blue chip options.

Anyway, if any of you have suggestions about cheap investments that offer a decent ROI, please let me know. I’m pretty much open to anything right now!

I had my monthly orthodontist appointment yesterday, and was in the chair for all of five minutes. The only thing the guy did was tweak a wire and change the elastic on my bottom teeth. Then he charged me the regular $52.50 for the visit and sent me on my way.

I don’t understand why I get charged the same amount whether the ortho spends 45 minutes working on my teeth or just 5 minutes like yesterday. Shouldn’t the rate go according to a sliding scale that actually reflects how much work is being done? Sheesh.

Anyway, there’s not much else to report. The ortho mentioned something about changing the archwire on my bottom teeth at my next visit, and mumbled something else about keeping my t-wires in until the end of summer. I guess things are pretty much moving according to schedule here….

After going through a relatively quiet month of spending in January, I more than made up for it in February by racking up a pretty big credit card bill. I’ve spent a total of $704.43 so far this month (compared to just $51.44 in January), and there’s still a week left to go. I know some people might not think that’s a lot, but I usually charge less than $100/month on my card, so this is huge for me. Take a look:

Some of the things I bought were actually necessary, such as office and pet supplies. But almost everything else was stuff I could very easily live without, such as Nintendo DS games, football t-shirts, and some DVDs.

This was not a good time to go on a spending spree, as I have taxes due in April. I need to exercise some more self-control here!

I read this Reuters article today, and just had to shake my head in disbelief.

Apparently, some 39-year-old Japanese guy decided it would a lot of fun to dress up as a high school girl, complete with wig and uniform, and then traipse around school grounds like that.

Of course, real students started screaming when they saw him, which led to a chase and the subsequent arrest of Tetsunori Nanpei.

Wow, is that creepy or what? I would have totally freaked out if anything like this ever happened when I was in school! What a psycho!!

With two dogs in the house, including a one that sheds A LOT, I find that I have to vacuum every single day in order to keep my carpets clean and free of dander. Because of this heavy-duty vacuuming, I wanted to buy a a top-of-the-line machine that would be able to stand up to the extreme wear and tear I would subject it too. So about a year ago, I purchased a Dyson DC21, which set me back about $600.

I am very happy with the DC21′s performance. It is far and away the most powerful vacuum cleaner I’ve ever owned, and is working as well today as it did when I first purchased it. In fact, the only thing I didn’t like about it was the price.

Out of curiosity, I was checking some different websites today to see if the Dyson DC21 is any cheaper now. Surprisingly, I found it at a site called 1AwsomeVac.com for over $200 less than what I paid for mine!

At first I thought 1AwsomeVac was having a special sale on that particular model, but after browsing a bit more, I realized that they have a bunch of different Dyson vacuum cleaners at the lowest prices I’ve ever seen. What’s more, 1AwsomeVac is an authorized Dyson dealer, and sells only factory sealed units — not refurbished or second-hand products like at other places.

I wish I had known about 1AwsomeVac.com before I made my purchase because I obviously would have saved a lot of money. As things stand now, I guess the only thing I can do is tell others about the site so they don’t end up making the same mistake I did!

I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to the Oscars this weekend. Usually I’m interested in who’s going to take home the top prizes, such as Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor/Actress. This year, however, I don’t feel the field is as strong as it has been in the past.

Nominees for Best Picture are No Country for Old Men, Juno, Atonement, Michael Clayton, and There Will Be Blood. I’ve seen all but There Will Be Blood, and think that two, Juno and No Country for Old Men, are grossly overrated. If I had a vote to cast, I would choose Atonement — but there’s no way that film is going to win. It would be a MAJOR upset if it did.

Anyway, I’m just more interested in seeing a fancy awards show with all the actors dressed up in their finest. The writers’ strike has really ruined the TV season for me, so it will be good to get back on track here, starting with the industry’s most glamorous event!