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Ahh, Friday

July 9th, 2016 at 02:09 am

It's the end of a long work week. OK, a 4-day work week. Posting here is one form of relaxation for me, a time to reassess the day, my thoughts.

I noticed my employer's 401k plan sponsor upgraded their retirement income tool so of course I ran through my numbers for the umpteenth time. (Plus, it was a kind of slow day at work.) My employer does a 4% dollar for dollar match and another 2% discretionary match, which comes out to nearly $5,000 extra in my 401k balance annually, or $15,000 over the 3 remaining years I plan to be there. Pretty good, huh?

I only went perm in the job in the summer of 2014 and already I have a 401k balance of $52,000.

Next week is my mid-year performance review. I'm curious what she'll say, as this is my "new" boss and I never really get any feedback from her since we work in different states and our weekly chat lasts about 5 minutes. I don't really know what she thinks of me. She's always rushed. I don't feel like we've "bonded," which concerns me a little.

It's been about 6 days since I contracted poison ivy. It's still mostly confined to one arm and I don't think it will spread much at this point. It lasted a full 2 weeks last time before it really showed signings of going away, so I'm halfway there. I think it was a MINIMAL brush with a leaf i was carrying on the end of a shovel, wearing gloves, but when i turned to carry the poison ivy to where I was dumping it, it kind of swung around and touched my arm. It's last revenge, you might say, for having me dig it up by the roots.

I started reading the biography of Steve Jobs. A friend gave me the book. I wasn't especially interested since I don't care to read a book about computers, but it appears so well written that I am already into it after starting the 1st chapter. My aim is to read as many books as possible by end of August so I can enter mini book reviews to win raffle prizes at the library. SmileSo far I have 2 entries.

I have a few SLR cameras of my mother's I'd like to sell. Does anyone know of a good way to sell used camera equipment? I'm leery of shipping it off in the mail to some online place but I really don't know its value and don't want to get less than what it's worth.

I was reading an article in the Times about how those little brain game websites, like Luminosity where I have a subscription, don't really do much. They recommend something where you can really learn something new. Like a foreign language, which I would not be good at. But then I came upon the idea of learning sign language. I think I might enjoy that.

When I was in grade school and our teacher went on maternity leave, our long-term substitute taught us sign language. Or at least how to sign the letters in the alphabet (as opposed to full words) so you could spell out things. I guess the individual letters are used mainly for proper nouns? I did find a place that offers classes on Monday nights in next town over.

But I need it to be super convenient in order for me to actually make the meetings. I don't think Mondays at 6:30 pm would work for me as i don't get home til 6 pm and I'd be tired. But I'm going to keep this in the back of my mind as something to consider. It would be even more fun to take the classes with a friend so that we could practice in between classes, but i don't know anyone who would want to take it with me.

7 Responses to “Ahh, Friday”

  1. Butterscotch Says:
    1468028824

    You might make a friend at the class! Go for it!

  2. lirpalynn Says:
    1468034437

    If I lived by you I would totally take the class too. I've thought about learning sign language for years. Smile

  3. CB in the City Says:
    1468074661

    Good idea! I think I would actually like to learn a language; I took French, German, and Russian at various times in my life but never got proficient in any of them. If nothing else, I think I would enjoy learning new vocabularies.

  4. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    1468117007

    For learning foreign languages, I'd check out Duolingo - it's a website and an app. There's multiple apps for sign language you could play with.

  5. scfr Says:
    1468166633

    Does your library offer you access to free on-line language programs? Mango is one such resource your library may offer. Mango offers American Sign Language learning. That could be a way to try it out first for free before signing up for a class, to see if it is something you want to pursue.

  6. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    1468178629

    I think my local library had a Mango subscription, but they don't anymore. Frown It looks like the ASL course is under construction though. If the library doesn't have it, you can subscribe for $175 a year.

  7. rob62521 Says:
    1468179600

    I sold my SLR camera to a guy who dealt with cameras...in fact, met him at a flea market. I didn't get much since he intended to resell it, but I figured I got my money's worth out of it after almost 30 years of use and the little money I did get went in a vacation fund.

    I think your idea of the sign language class sounds great.

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