It seems that we actually spent more than we made this
month. We spent about 115% of what we
made. Not sure why or how that happened
but it does explain why we were having to pull from savings so often this
month.
One curiosity in our April expenses is the Credit Card
bill. Yes, it’s true that we’re trying
to pay it down but we threw 29% of our money towards it this month. Last month was my bonus month and we allocated
37% income to it. Typically we seem to
run about 15%.
I’m not sure if Dana is going for broke trying to get it
paid off once and for all or if she’s channeling dance expenses through it and paying
them off as she goes. I suppose I could
ask (may cause trouble) or take a look at the statement myself. I hope she’s going for broke towards paying
it off because if she is, based on the last statement I saw, we should be
getting damned close to having it done.
We also had a large hit for a hotel room (Fashion &
Leisure) this month due to needing to book ahead for Elissa’s Tampa trip.
Other notable spending items:
Electronics (Fashion & Leisure) remained high but we had
software for tax to buy, I got a game and a new watch, and Elissa seems to buy
some online game just about every day ($60 in apps this month) so that’s where
that is going.
Gifts (Fashion & Leisure) was high but it was Elissa’s
birthday Month and as far as birthday months go it was on trend with spending
for the rest of the family.
Fast food (Food) was higher this month than it’s been all
year and I don’t really know why. I
bought breakfast for the family a few mornings and Dana ate a bunch of Jimmy
Johns but I also spent more on my daily chips and soda. No clue how or why it’s more, but it is.
Oddly Restaurants and Groceries (Food) was lower this month
than any other. Those are always really
heavy hitters so it’s nice to see them trending downward. Heck, we even treated Dana’s parents to diner
on a few occasions including a $103 tab for her birthday movie as well as $70
on pizza for her class. I count whatever
happened here as a small miracle.
Home improvement (Home Goods) was a little high but that’s
due to needing to replace the breaker and a thermostat more than anything
else. All of the other expenses are just
odds and ends.
Spa and massage (Wellness) was higher this month than it’s
ever been before but drilling into it, it seems to be just a bunch of make-up
and shit. I probably could have classified
these charges better.
Most other types of spending seemed to be trending downwards
somewhat slightly. Overall, a pretty
good month except for the Hotel and the Credit Cards.
For Diet:
Eh, it is what it is.
Some days are better than others and overall I really do try but I haven’t
really been trying this week and my weight hasn’t really changed at all. I’ve got the record but it’s not really worth
it to post a chart. Just one steady flat
line like the EKG of a corpse.
As far as everything else goes:
Well, it’s a mixed bag but it’s all very stressful and full
of drama so at least things are constant and normal for us. The long and short of it is this ---
Elissa got invited to dance for a new company in an environment
that looks like it will be overall better for her and also be surrounded by old
friends. There is still paper work to sign
and studio spaces to move into so nothing is guaranteed but it looks like it’s
happening and it seems to be an overall good opportunity for her.
However, at the place where she’s dancing now she was promoted
and yes, that’s good BUT… when her teachers started telling us about the state
of her progress I asked some pointed questions about what they were seeing and
how they were addressing areas of deficiency and it became fairly obvious that
they weren’t really giving her much attention nor working towards some plan
towards higher achievement for her.
It was troubling but also enlightening to find out that they’d
essentially written her off as a back row core dancer even though she was in
their pre-professional program as a student at the same level as most of the
others. Her teachers were also visibly
upset when we left the meeting because they hadn’t been able to explain
themselves and they knew that they’d essentially talked themselves into a
corner and been caught not fulfilling their half of the contract we signed with
them.
As for my part, I was very polite and friendly. Dana was upset but beyond just seeming sad
about it all there was no ill words exchanged.
So we kept Elissa out of class for 2 days to sort of work
through it all and try to find our bearings.
On Friday, when she went back to class, her teachers fucking withdrew
her promotion and basically kicked her out of the company that’s she’d been dancing
for, for 2 years. They also call us into
their office to explain to us that, we’d asked too many questions about
decisions that they had made and that it was best for her not to dance for them
for at least a year.
Well this upset just about everyone and now Dana and the
kiddo sort of exist in the constant state of anxiety and depression that also
sort of drifts in and out of rage. Doesn’t
make for enjoyable conversation.
So to sum it all up, Elissa was extended a very good dance opportunity
by people who respect her talents and want to work with her, the company where
she now dances promoted her and then kicked her out within 72 hours of doing
so, and everyone is sad and nervous and angry all the time.
But hey, I did finish the guest shower (looks like shit) and
got the solar panels mounted on the roof so it hasn’t all been bad… or good… or
whatever it is.
