So drained

I feel so tired. Today was a calm day, but the long hours take a lot out of me. There was also an accident downtown blocking the c-train line delaying me from going home for quite some time. Half way through the week already though. It's sad that I spend so much time thinking about just wanting to get through work combined with not wanting to go to work.
Today was kind of upbeat though. I had something to think about today, what I want out of life in the next year or two and trying to figure out a fixed-income investment strategy that I want to try. On the first one, I wonder why I like the idea of living in a place that can be used as a social hub but I don't really feel comfortable in large social gatherings and previously, I've never taken advantage of having a place I could invite people to before.
As for the second one, I find myself asking two questions, if I had a variety of investments before the current mess began, what would I have sold by now? If I were buying right now, what would I buy? Eventually, I had an idea. The 5-year fixed reset preferred shares seem to have really taken off in terms of offerings. Maybe I could mimic the laddered bond portfolio approach. Also had me thinking about the difference between growth potential and financial security. Are there differences between who I would invest in bonds with and who I would invest in common stock with. Thus far, I'm not really sure.

bad dreams

Had a rough night today. Wouldn't be writing about it if I didn't wake up so close to when my alarm clock was set. First dream, everything was breaking down, busses, industrial ovens, cameras, mugs, I forget what else. Second dream, everyone was passing me by. I hate when I feel as though I've lost a lot.

What do I want in a dwelling?

I'm trying to answer the question of what I'm looking for in a place. Thus far, I just want to stay portable. I suppose some place that doesn't take much looking after. I'm not interested in having pets, but I'm ok with living with them. I suppose when you don't intend to stay for very long, not much really matters as long as getting to the next place goes quickly. Of course, location always matters. After much prodding of bus schedules, I figured that the north east line of the LRT works best for me.

I wonder how many blog posts I've made while sitting around dreading work. I sure do spend a lot of time thinking about it. Hopefully when I finally move, I'll be able to cut my commute a lot and give myself more time during the week. That should make it better. Not sure what else I want to look for when looking for a place. I just want to be cheap and mobile.

Earth Hour 1%

All that advertising and well, we beat last year's record by 4.5%. Instead of a 3.5% increase in power consumption during earth hour, Calgary's power consumption decreased 1%. It seems like a lot of work for not so much reduction.

Month End

Hmm, I almost don't remember what I usually calculate at the end of the month. Anyway, here goes:
gross pay: 2629.75
net pay: 2106.80
spending: 220.17
student loan repayments: 225.91
savings: 2106.80 - 220.17 - 225.91 = 1660.72, wish it was higher
Not sure what sort of commentary to make at the moment. I picked up a bunch of blank dvds, want to back up some things. My photo collection is four dvds already and I have a few rather photo intensive events coming up. It's also nice to back up my laptop's entire hard drive, though it's a bit of a mess right now, so a bit of clean up and well, two copies will easily fit on one dvd. Also, I got reusable bag credits 9 times this month. That's pretty good. It was 5 in January and 4 in February.
I've got the radio on right now and Dr. Laura just said something that really hit me. Playing worker ant isn't living. I couldn't agree more with that sentiment. Can't wait to be done with that. I should get my final tax receipts next week and be able to file my return. This year I'll be getting money back, next year I'm thinking that I'll have enough investment income that I probably won't be getting money back. Either that or be pretty close. Refund probably shouldn't come till end of may, start of June. Should have vacation pay coming around June, also have profit share coming up in July. Also have money coming from managing the family firm in the next quarter, both the stuff I loaned it and something for my troubles. I'm hoping to make some significant progress towards not being a worker ant in the next couple months.

Small Wish List

47 days down. Somehow that's moved to the top of my mind. Anyway, end of month three, and the end of 2009Q1. I'm trying something new next month, volunteering. More of a hanging out with a bunch of fun folk, taking pictures and having fun. At least that's my impression of what's going to happen. Maybe I'll be wrong. I've got a goal of taking 200 pictures at that event. Also contemplating a new camera. There's a kids IR spy cam on clearance at walmart that I'm thinking about. Maybe if it gets marked down further. There's still quite a few. Part of me feels saddened that it's probably a sign that there'll be fewer non-main stream goods attempted.
Other than that, I'm hoping to get another good deal on my investments, positioning for another purchase next month. How well that goes weighs in on my spending as well.
Also on my shopping list, I feel the need for a pencil case. Pens and pencils are organized easily enough, though I'd also like to keep staplers and eventually a three-hole punch there and I also have paper clips to store. Strangely for something this cheap and simple, I don't simply go out and get a pencil case. Maybe that's taking things too far, but I like to survey my options before I get something. It brings me joy. I also don't have my own three-hole punch yet.