So though it isn’t September the 12th, I’m going to do this year’s entry a few months earlier, to make up for last year’s lack:

So, in the interest of allowing my readers to learn more about me as a person, rather than me as a blogger, and because I fear nothing, and show everything…ask me a question. Any question you want, no matter how crude, rude, personal, irrelevant. I’ll answer them all in the next entry (and all people who ask a question get plugged).

The same rules apply – ask me anything you want, and I’ll answer it to the best of my ability. Just make sure to read over previous answers (1, 2, 3, 4) to ensure that your question hasn’t already been asked and answered. All question askers will be plugged in the next entry. Go nuts!

OH MY GAWD. I WON’T EVEN HAVE ANY FURNITURE YET – THE COUCH WON’T BE DELIVERED FOR TEN WEEKS BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO MAKE IT!

I bought this couch in black. I bought this couch in 100% leather. I bought this couch at 50% off. I bought this couch at $1790. I bought a $3690 couch for $1790.

I am awesome. The couch is awesome. The price is awesome. General awesome.

My current work schedule isn’t good for study. When I leave the house at 7am, and get back at 7pm, the last thing I want to do when I get home is study. I want to have a long hot shower, to have a delicious dinner, to snuggle up in bed with a good book or with my boyfriend. I don’t want to get out the highlighters and pens and start doing my readings, especially as I already make the effort to do an hour of study each day when I’m commuting to and from work on the train.

Despite all the above circumstances though, I’ve somehow managed to maintain a High Distinction (the highest possible grade) for the past semester’s study. The pressure is on to continue at the same level of excellence for the next eighteen months!

1. 56 piece Stanley Rogers stainless steel cutlery set: $80AUD down from $360AUD
2. 2x 16 piece dinner crockery sets: $14AUD each set, down from $59.95AUD each

56 pieces of cutlery and 32 pieces of crockery could be considered overkill for a two person apartment. How can Dylan and I get through that much crockery and cutlery, considering that when he cooks, he tends to just put everything on one plate that we share, minimising the amount of dishes to be washed?

My theory when purchasing the items was that considering there’s a dishwasher in the apartment, it would be more environmentally friendly to run a full load of dirty dishes and cutlery every five or six days, than it would be to run tap water after every meal to wash dishes by hand. Therefore, I’d need enough crockery and cutlery to actually last me the full five/six days, instead of just having four dinner plates, four bowls, and four knives and forks. It makes sense to me.

Next on my shopping list is a set of cookware (I need a frying pan, at least three saucepans, and a stock pot), and a set of chef-quality knives. The problem is of course, is that the particular sets I have my eyes on retail for approximately $600AUD…I don’t know if I’m good enough to get them any cheaper than half price!

Dry July is an online social community where an individual or team can sign up to the challenge of a month long sponsored abstinence from alcohol. The funds raised from participants’ sponsorship directly benefit the lives of adults living with cancer right across Australia.

Dry July is about clearing your head and making a difference. Get healthy, challenge yourself, encourage positive change and a healthy attitude to alcohol consumption. We hope you embrace the concept, take on the challenge and ensure Dry July has a positive effect on your well-being as well as the well-being of others.

I’m not doing this to raise money – indeed, I’m not even registered on the website. This is something I’m doing for myself, and more importantly, for my wallet. I spend too much money on alcohol when I’m not particularly dependent on it. It’s the glass of wine when I go out to dinner. It’s the bottle of wine or six pack of beer/cider when Dylan and I are having a night in. It’s the bottles of vodka I bought when I went through duty-free shopping at the airport.

I’m no connoisseur of alcohol. It’s not that I drink it because I love it and can’t do without it. I drink it because it’s a beverage, and I’m thirsty, or I want a drink with my meal. But I equally enjoy drinking mineral water, soft drinks, juices, cordials. Why spend $20AUD on a six pack of beer, or $7AUD for a glass of wine at a restaurant, when I’d be equally as happy paying $3AUD for a bottle of cordial that will last me the whole week, or nothing for a glass of still water?

So, that’s the reason I’m cutting out paying for alcohol for July and August (though if I’m attending a birthday party with an open bar, I won’t say no to a glass or two). I’ll save an easy $100AUD over the next two months, and perhaps go part of the way towards reducing the beer belly I’m gaining.

The cost of the book is $65AUD. I can see people thinking – why spend money to save money? Because in the long run, you end up saving so much more. So far for the 2010/2011 financial year, I’ve already used:

1. Lunar Drive In (movies) – saving $8AUD
2. Krispy Kreme (coffee and doughnut) – saving $5.30AUD
3. KFC (burger) – saving $4.95AUD
4. Thai Garden (restaurant) – saving $14.09AUD
5. KFC (wrap) – saving $5.45AUD
6. Monk and Me (restaurant) – saving $24AUD

In just a matter of weeks, I’ve already nearly recouped the cost of purchasing the book – for the eleven months ahead, any savings I make from using these vouchers is money I would have spent back in my pocket. Also, it is important to note that all the above are things I would have paid full price for – so it’s not like I’m spending money I wouldn’t normally have spent.

The fantastic thing about the Entertainment Book of course, is that it encourages you to try new restaurants you might not normally go to. I dine out (relatively) frequently, and get into the habit of going to the same restaurant and having the same dish again and again. By having this voucher book though, I’m encouraged to try new restaurants in the book and expand my experience of culinary Melbourne. In the same way, having 1-for-1 vouchers for the aquarium, zoo, etc., means that Dylan and I will actually go to new places together and have a day out of our normal routine instead of just talking about it.

Essentially, I love the Entertainment Book. I love the savings, I love the new experiences and the new restaurants, and I love knowing that while I’m indulging my frugal side, I’m still giving back to the community in some small way.

Now, I was originally on a 12 month contract (to expire March next year), but they gave me the option of either going permanent now, or having my contract extended. I chose to have my contract extended until December next year. It’s perhaps against the advice of many career gurus: why be a contractor when you can have a permanent position and cement your role within the organisation? It’s because I know that come December next year, it’ll be time for me to move on to bigger and brighter things.

1. I’ll have finished my Masters.
2. I’ll have spent two and half years in one part-time role, and nearly two years in another.
3. I’ll be at the stage where it’ll make more sense to take on one full-time role, rather than two part-time roles.

And to tell you the truth, I’m not the type of person who takes well to staying in one place for too long – I like variety, and though this is one of the largest disability service organisations in the state, there’s not much room for growth in the areas that I’m interested in. To avoid being pigeonholed in a dead-end job, I really need a larger, national or international organisation – they would be the only ones who have the scope to offer the type of long-term role I’m looking for.

So…yeah. I realise these work-related entries are probably boring everyone to bits, but that’s what my life mainly consists of at the moment. You’ll just have to deal with it.

The most amusing part of the day came right at the start when the facilitator ran through a few real life examples of food-related organisations who had been caught blatantly breaching basic food safety regulations:

1. A bakery with a cockroach baked into a sandwich loaf
2. A dead rat found in the storage area of a restaurant
3. A restaurant keeping live crabs in the restroom

All the above transgressions occurred in Asian-run establishments. It makes sense – when you’re an immigrant running a restaurant in Australia, what do you know of food safety when you speak little English and when there would have been no such regulations your home country? To reduce the likelihood of such incidents occurring, it makes sense to me for local governments to provide training workshops on food safety conducted in languages other than English. At the very least, it would make sense for literature on the topic to be made available in multiple languages – that way, even if people don’t get the benefit of hands-on training, they still have access to the basic principles in a language they can understand fluently.

So what now? My annual salary is still approximately 10% less than my “ideal” salary for someone of my skills and education level, working in this sector. One could argue that with the national unemployment rate still relatively high (though Australia does have one of the lowest unemployment figures in the developed world), I should simply be satisfied with the very fact that I have employment which pays me enough to keep me self-sufficient and in the black. Or, one could be like me and be perpetually dissatisfied with what she has and continue to strive for bigger and better.

I am continuing to seek alternative employment. There are some minor changes – I am currently only applying for positions that will take me further in my career goal of working in community relations in the not for profit sector. In addition, I am only applying for positions that are offering a salary at least 10% above my ideal salary range (e.g. $58K-$60K pro rata) – when I change positions, I want to ensure that I am doing so with a clear salary increase. If I am unable to find something suitable, I will stay with my current position (there’s something to be said for familiarity) until I finish my Masters degree, at which point I’ll reassess my options. This is of course, assuming that other circumstances don’t change in my life, necessitating a removal to greener pastures.