Well, since we all seem to have credit cards on the brain, I thought I would tally up my 2012 credit card rewards thus far in 2012.

February: Discover Card, $150 cash
March: Citi Dividend VIsa, $200 cash
Anticipated in May: Citi Thank You, $500 in gift cards

Total so far: $350
Total in 2011: $425

2012 Goal: $1,000

The cash I've earned so far has just gone toward paying my general living expenses. If I were working, it would be nice to treat it as fun money, but alas, that's not in the cards right now. It's more like survival money.

Today's my last free day before returning to p/t job tomorrow. So the only thing on my agenda is to collect another carful of free mulch at the landfill and spread it on the perennial bed running alonside my driveway.

I also want to call a contact who recruits people for focus groups for a certain company, to see if there are any going on.

Yesterday I spent several hours working in the veggie garden. There were already a lot of weeds growing in it and I needed to plant 6 baby broccoli seedlings my sister gave me on Easter. Last year, my broccoli was deccimated by worms making pinholes all over the leaves. A flying insect lays its eggs on the underside of the leaves and they feed from there.

So after reading about using tulle netting, the kind used for a bridal veil, as a cover for things like broccoli (it prevents the insect from laying its eggs on the plant), I priced it out and using a coupon was able to get 5 yards of white tulle for about $7. If it helps me get a bumper crop of broccoli this year, it will be worth it. It was a challenge to set it all up since I needed poles to hold the netting aloft over the seedlings and I didn't want to spend more money on poles, so i just made do with what i have and weighed down the tulle on all sides with small rocks.

It looks like a floppy eyesore in my garden, quite frankly, and my neighbors are probably wondering what the heck it is, but again, if it does what it's supposed to do, I don't care.

So I got the broccoli in, and also wrapped the base of each stem in tinfoil to prevent cutworms from mowing them down at the stalk. (You learn these things the hard way.) And I also planted pea pods, then hauled my very long hose down about 75 feet to the garden and gave everything a good watering. It's been very dry around here.

Today, it would be nice to get the lettuce in.

On my trip to get the tulle yesterday, I also stopped at Petco for a free can of Science Diet cat food, picked up some groceries on sale at Shop Rite and got another week's worth of DVDs at the library.

On the job front:
There's NOTHING going on right now, either freelance or otherwise. Waiting to hear on the news reporter job. Waiting on the legal editing work. So 2 things pending, but that's it.

I asked a friend of mine with a camcorder if he would be willing to tape me in a mock interview and play the part of a prospective employer. I'd like to watch the tape and try to pinpoint weaknesses.

I'd had a lot of interviews, maybe 1 a month or 1 every other month, but no offers. I know it's partly due to the sheer number of others in the same boat, but I also think I could greatly improve my interviewing skills. It seems I'm too easily thrown by chance factors out of my control, like, I don't feel a 'connection' with the person who's interviewing me, or I get an unexpected question, or like, at my last interview at the commercial real estate appraisal company, the guy interviewing me was so damn attractive and suave, it made me nervous!

I think I should be good enough at interviewing that I AM in control of the interview process and do a good job regardless of the other person's personality or other superficial things.

My unemployment runs out June 19.