I spelled the title of my last post wrong

I just noticed it too. It's been that way for over 2 weeks and I never noticed. I happened to look today and it stuck out like a sore thumb. That's what happens though when you're in a hurry and don't really take the time to proofread like you should.

Oh well hopefully it won't happen again.

I need moer hotel points

The program that I'm in had another sale on points. I was about half-way there to getting more points. I was surprised that they offered the points for as long as they did. Unfortunately, I was not able to save enough points to get another stack added to my account.

I really want to go on a nice vacation in the next couple of years and I want my air miles and hotel points to pay for the vast majority of it. Since I'm a beach goer it's not that expensive for my vacations anyway. And I'm sure most people would say that it's not a good use of points, but it works for me.

Now I just need to get to saving!

I got some hotel points

Yay!! It was earlier than expected and I didn't have enough points in my account to get as many hotel points as I wanted but I did add almost 3k points to my hotel loyalty account.

According to the previous schedule, the points should not have been available until after January. However, I kept looking just to make certain. Sure enough the points were available last week. I jumped up and logged in to get them before they sold out.

There are still points available but I don't have enough points to turn in for more points. By the time I gather enough points, I'm sure they'll be all gone. That's ok though, right now I have enough points for almost 2 days. If I get a deal on the stay, I can stay anywhere from 3 to 6 days. As most of my vacations are only 4 nights, this works for me.

Now it's time to start stockpiling again so I can take full advantage the next time.

Well I have a chance to get more hotel points

I was looking through one of the websites that I go to looking for information on hotel deals when I saw a contest. It's for the main hotel chain that I belong to which is a good thing. You can win 50k points which is 1-2 nights unless you get the severely discounted room and then it's between 5k-12.5k. Not bad. But combined with what I have, it's almost enough points to get me a free stay (5 days or 4 nights).

I love this program because the points never expire. For me that's a good thing since I don't travel a lot. I can save up and take my dream vacation. Right now I have one pegged for 2014 but I don't want to get into it until I get more concrete plans.

But it's definitely exciting to start saving towards that goal.

I need more hotel points

I belong to several frequent flier programs, even though I don't fly a lot. However most programs allow you to accumulate points and as long as there is some activity over the previous 18-24 months your account will stay active.

The problem is that I don't have any points in my hotel loyalty accounts. I have one hotel chain that I have points in. However, the points expire every 24 months and they don't have any hotels anywhere I want to go. I'm still in my beach phase where all I want to do is go chill at a beach resort. This particular chain only has 4 or 5 islands. The problem is that none of the hotels are one the beach. On one island the hotels are in the middle of the city nowhere near a beach. That's not a deal breaker because the last hotel I stayed at was basically across the street from the beach and that's no big deal.

I really wish I could afford to travel more.

I was really trying to go back on vacation

I had hoped that the hotel/casino that I stayed at would have offered me a deal to come back. They're a pretty cheap resort in the first place so I wasn't expecting a free night but I was hoping for a $15-20 off discount per night. Sadly, I haven't received any offers and I don't think I'll be receiving any.

It's been almost 3 weeks since I've been back so I should have received an offer by now. Since I haven't received one, I can only assume that I won't be getting one. In reality, it's probably a good thing that I haven't gotten a discount. I would have booked another trip so fast my own head would have spun.

Oh well, I guess there's always next year.

My vacation was awesome

And expensive. I booked a fairly low priced trip but all of the "extras" really started to add up. I had to buy new clothes, because I don't wear dresses and capri pants regularly. I also had to buy beach supplies like lotions, travel sized sundries etc. Then I had to pay for luggage fees, parking etc. After a while, those numbers started to add up.

I did not get the all-inclusive meal plan so I spent quite a bit of money buying food. It costs the same as any big city so I wasn't too surprised. The next time I will go for the all-inclusive hotel. It won't save too much money but I do like the idea of paying for everything in advance. Then I would just need a few bucks for incidentals, souvenirs etc.

However I had a great time and I would gladly do it all again. As a matter of fact, I hope to do it again next year.

2 weeks to relaxation

I've been so busy lately that I haven't had a chance to really relax. Even when I've had days off, I've been stressed about how much we've had to do at work. Well work is slowing down, which means we're almost at a normal pace instead of a break neck pace. But more importantly, it's vacation time for me.

I have to finish this week and then I have next week, then it's vacation time. I took my normal week and then the Monday afterward so I have 10 glorious days off. I want to get as much done as I can in the next 2 weeks so that while I'm on vacation, I don't have to worry about getting anything done or stressing.

I want this to be a totally relaxing time.

Oh we're related?

Oops. The post I wrote the other day was about someone who friended me on a social networking site. I didn't know who they were but I knew that it was someone close because of the way they addressed me and who else they were friends with on the site.

Well it turns out that the person is my relatives, one of my 2nd or 3rd cousins. I haven't seen her in a good 15 years minimum so it's no wonder the name rang a bell but I couldn't quite place her.

At least now we'll keep in touch more. That's always a good thing.

Who are you again?

I labeled this post friends, but that word should be in quotations. I just got a request on a networking site from a old friend. I accepted the request even though I have no idea who this person is. Then they private messaged me and asked how I was doing. They even referenced something personal so I know they know who I am.

The problem is that I have no idea who this person is. The name doesn't even remotely ring a bell. I know her last name could be different (marriage and such) but the first name doesn't sound familiar. She doesn't have a common first name either so I should know who she is. But nope, no clue.

Hopefully I'll figure it out soon.

My niece is driving me crazy

I just had to get her another phone. This is the second phone she's had in 2 years. I do understand that she's a teenager and they're rough and tough on phones but sheesh. This one had water damage in addition to wear and tear. That's all in addition to the cracked screen.

It will cost me $100 for her to get a new phone since it was due to water damage. Regular wear and tear is a small charge of less than $10 but the water did me in. I started to get her a phone off of Ebay and just paying cash but I decided against it.

Hopefully she gets a job soon and gets her own cell phone plan.

My walk almost killed me - not really

But it sure as hell felt like it this morning. It's not even that hot outside today. This past weekend it was in the high 80's and low 90's. This morning it was in the mid 70's but it was kinda humid.

My walk starts off at my normal bus-stop. Then I walk through downtown, over one of the many bridges and end up on the side of PNC Park on Federal Street. Normally I walk over the 7th St. Bridge (Andy Warhol Bridge) and cut down a side street. Then I walk the 2 or so blocks to my building. Then it's the torture of walking up 60 or so steps to get into my building. I could take the elevator but I really need the exercise.

Most days I'm totally fine but today I was out of breath, tired and sweaty. Yuck. Now I have to sit at work all day smelling like a baby goat. My legs were tired before I even got halfway here. I had figured by now that I would be used to the walk but days like today just get the best of me.

I need to do a quick body cleanse and drop a few pounds then I should be able to make the walk with no muss and no fuss.

Doximity is a new physician network that's starting to take off

Get the play on words? Doximity - Docs in proximity...pretty clever if I do say so myself. Doximity is new and growing with a total of 6% of US physicians using the service. New members have to go through a 3 step credential check to maintain both physician and provider privacy. The service even allows docs to connect securely through their smart phones to send HIPPA compliant text messages, exchange private information or even faxes from their phones. They can also connect with classmates and former residents.

Their biggest feature is the physician profiles. If you go to the search bar and type docs in California that speak Spanish and specialize in treating abdominal aortic aneurysm, doctors matching that profile will pop up. As an example Bryan Kurtz MD pops up and a doctor can refer their patient to him for treatment.

With everything that they do throughout the day, this saves doctors time by providing a rich directory right at their fingertips.

Winding down on overtime

Back in March I was talking about how tired I was because of overtime. I have been working overtime to get enough for a 3.5% down payment on the house that I want to purchase next year. My account is $50 short as of today but by this Saturday it will be at the full amount.

I'm also trying to raise my regular savings and that's pretty much what I'm working on now. I just paid off my car, in anticipation of buying a home next year, so I'm putting that money in savings. Unfortunately once I do buy my home, the car money will be used for monthly expenses. My rent is insanely cheap and there is no way I'm going to get a mortgage for that low of an amount. I also don't pay gas or water/sewage right now so those will increase my budget for sure.

I had planned on getting a second job just before overtime became available but this has really been much better for me. A second job would have been less money and way more hours so I'm pretty happy with how things turned out. My boss has been hinting that the overtime train might stop in June so I'm just going to keep chugging along and get what I can before it stops. I haven't really gone all out on overtime because the one time that I did I was almost catatonic the next week. The worse part, at least for me, was that I was really trying to help out and not trying to pad my check.

I may not get any more overtime after June, but at least I will have the bulk of summer to myself which will be nice!

It doesn't look like I'll take a vacation this year

Again. I haven't had a real vacation in almost 4 years. 5 years ago I went on a cruise that I didn't pay for (it was a gift), then the next year I went to Vegas for a few days. After that there's been nothing.

I had plans on going away this year but I waited to start planning and when I went to actually book the trip, the prices were way more than I was comfortable paying. I could still squeeze in a trip near the end of summer, when it's hurricane season, or just wait until next year and make sure to book early.

But right now my summer vacation plans are looking mighty bleak.

I am tired!

I've been working like crazy lately. I want to buy a house next year so I've been working to pay off some debt and save the down payment. I'm only going in with a 5% down payment instead of a larger amount. I could stay where I am and continue to save but it would take me an additional 3-5 years minimum to save the amount that I would need. I'll just go with what I have and pay the PMI.

Hopefully I can take a rest and not work as many hours in the next few months. In the past month I haven't worked less than 50 hours per week and most weeks it's closer to 58-60. Considering I my job has never had overtime in the past, I'm not used to working like this. Don't get me wrong, the extra money is great but the lack of time is a bummer.

Oh well, hopefully I can rest this weekend and hope back on that gravy train come Monday!

And here comes the weather craziness

On the news the other day, they kept saying that the weather would vary this week. The beginning of the week is supposed to be cold and then warm into the 60's by mid-week. The weekend is supposed to be in the 50's and dropping. Well, not so fast. It's snowing today. It was supposed to snow yesterday (a dusting) but not today. It's already tapered off but snow is snow and I want it to go away.

My job is moving to a new location next week and I just know that it's going to be nasty weather to accompany our move. On the bright side, Spring is just around the corner.

This weather is scaring me!

Two weeks ago it was freezing cold. Last week was pretty mild and today it's near 40 degrees. For February this is totally unheard of. The weather is supposed to change this weekend and get cold again with some rain and maybe even snow.

I'm just really fearful of March I must admit. I just feel like we're going to have a long blast of either sub-zero temperatures or a blizzard or two before Spring hits. I wish I could just hide out in my house until April.

On a positive note, baseball season is almost here and I'm ecstatic! Once pitchers and catchers report I know Spring is only around the corner. I do remember one season when it snowed in April during the opening week of baseball! All I know is that it's only a hop, skip and a jump until Summer now and that makes me very happy!

Some of my resolutions are coming in nicely

If I could get some of this weight off without pharmaceutical help I would be ecstatic. But as for my monetary goals, they're shaping up pretty nicely and it's only February. I already have almost $200 between my cash and investment accounts to add. That may not seem like a lot, but it's more than I typically budget for. If I can save the equivalent to one whole paycheck this year, I'll be pretty happy.

Now to just figure out a way to get a good 15 or more pounds to disappear like magic.

I should be used to snow

Every year when it snows people act like they've forgotten how to drive in the snow or act like it's something they've never seen before.

Last night I got home extremely late and there was already a decent amount of snow covering the ground. It was only a few inches but the plows hadn't been out yet and there was also ice to contend with. It took me over 45 minutes to make a drive that's usually 20 minutes. But I wasn't in a hurry and I just took my time to make sure I made it home safely.

Since everyone is afraid to drive, the roads should be pretty clear for me to go out shopping tomorrow.

Another year and batch of resolutions

And of course, another year where I don't meet half of them. I think I made 7 this year. 2 of them I will definitely meet because they're related to my housing purchase. Another I should hit because it's related to my housing purchase but it can occur in 2012 or 2013. Basically it's just make sure I close no later than March 31, 2013. Easy peasy since that's already in my plans. The rest are hit and miss.

I've had weight loss on my list for the past several years and it's always a bust. The first year I weighed more than I thought I did so even though I lost weight, I didn't get to where I wanted to be. The next two years I just maintained where I was at. Hopefully this is the year where I lost major poundage.

I do want to add money to my furniture and future loan accounts, mostly for student loans. I also want to add several hundred dollars to my investment fund this year. Then I made a goal for a cash savings account, after accounting for housing costs. Before I can determine whether I made the goal, I need to figure out what I already have.

If I meet 4 of my 7 goals, it will be a good year.