I had a rather enjoyable day today although i never left town.

My one and only work-related task today was to write up a press release, so I wanted to get that out of the way first thing this morning.

I spent a lot more time on it than usual, but i wrapped up around noon. Then I left the house to mail out my car insurance payment for the next 6 months; it had been delayed because i needed to retake the safe driver exam. I scored a 98, got the certificate in the mail and included a copy of it with my premium payment. But anyway, I made a special trip to the post office to drop it off since it's due in exactly 7 days, which is cutting it close for me.

After that, I deposited 3 checks in my checking account and picked up some egg noodles I plan to cook up with the second half of green cabbage I've got.

Then I went for a 40-minute walk, which really revved up my appetite, to I somewhat impulsively decided to treat myself to a Subway lunch (meatball marinara with onion and green pepper and cheese and a small Diet Coke). I brought the sandwich over to a local park where I sat and enjoyed the view from my car. My hunger really made that sandwich taste great,and even eating from my car at a park felt like a "treat" after always eating at home.

After that, I ended up at the library to return 4 DVDs due today, and then I spent a leisurely 40 minutes or so reading my hometown paper since I let my subscription lapse as a cost-saver since losing my job.

After a 40-minute wait on hold, i finally got thru to unemployment office right before they closed to tell them i didn't get a check last week becus the previous week i reported freelance income. This always happens; the automated phone system treats occasional freelance work the same as a regular, part-time job and it necessitates that you call in to the unemployment office and speak to a live person so that your future weekly checks aren't frozen.

It wouldn't be a big deal except that earlier in the week, if you have the luck to not get a busy signal, the system will tell you the lines are too busy and please call back later. Well, i've been "calling back later" Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and today. It's one big hassle. You would think they would want to encourage people to honestly report partial income by making it relatively easy to report it, but no, that's not the case.

I'm looking at outstanding invoices for my freelance work; I have 2 things left over from 09 that i haven't yet been paid for, plus 2 new jobs I did in January; all 4 together will yield me $495 in income, although many clients really drag their feet in paying, so who knows when. Sometimes, I have to invoice a 2nd time and put "LATE PAYMENT" at the top of the invoice.