Cheryl's Blog

I had such a weird dream last night.  i met Paris Hilton somewhere and her posse and we were all gonna go back swimming at her house.   we were walking and going around some trees and stuff and apparently, she explained to me, it was a secret entrance to avoid the paparazzi.  Then I was changing into my swimsuit and everyone went ahead of me outside to the pool, so I was lost and couldn't find my way outside.  i ran into her mom, and offered to shake her hand and she pretended her hands were dirty but really she didnt want to shake my hand.  then i was wandering around some more trying to find the way outside when I ran into her mom again talking to her brother or something.  her dog was there, a golden lab, and they had had gold buttons sewn into the dogs fur on the back so the dog looked like it was wearing a royal suit or something.  i complimented the dog and the mom warmed up to me slightly after that.  then i finnally found my way to the back where there was this free form swimming pool, it looked like a wave pool cause it had no sides only gradual incline up to the regular ground level.  i kept trying to put my sunglasses at the side of the pool but they kept falling in.  i think nicole richie was there.  the walls were somewhere between antique yellow and bright yellow, and her house was utterly gorgeous.  it looked like a chateau spread out over rolling hills.

i dont know what this dream meant but it has been bothering me and making me feel sad ever since I woke up.  Also my head huts really bad and I have a sore throat, so maybe that was why  i had such a strange dream.

cheryl @ 09:19 | comments(0) | Permanent link

Well today was a pretty good day.  I had my appointment with a credit card counseling place and they advised me to not do credit card counseling.  I am in better shape than I thought I was in terms of at least paying my bills on time and being able to pay at least the minimum balance, although at times I wasn't sure where the money was gonna come from.  I am gonna keep paying as much as I can and maybe when I start doing substitute teaching and working for my mom it will be just that much more money I can pay towards my debt.  It just sucks paying the same amount of interest each month cause I am not paying my principal.  I am gonna download this thing from Rutgers that will tell me which cards to pay to save the most in interest as I go along.  Also the credit card counselor advised me to start using envelopes to budget my money.  I am actually really excited about this.  A friend of mine in high school used to use envelopes, her mom taught her, and I used to ask her all these questions and it seemed so cool to actually save a little at a time so you would have the money in the envelope and don't feel guilty about spending it.  I tried it once a few years ago and wound up messing up, if I felt like ordering pizza I would take out money from the envelope marked 'gas money' or something, then I would have to charge the gas.  I am gonna try to be more self-disciplined about it this time cause I can see a lot of rewards for doing this.

Work was good today, I am really enjoying working as a website administrator for Blogsvertise.  I like looking at people's blogs and assessing them.  People write so many interesting, varied things.  It is crazy and I could easily get sucked into reading them for hours.  I was worried that people would have less interesting sites because they are aiming for money but actually the opposite is true, people are writing and they know they have to write about interesting, provocative things to gain readership.  I am really impressed with the quality of most of the sites we get. 

cheryl @ 16:43 | comments(0) | Permanent link

I never learn....I had coffee again this morning.  I just feel so groggy in the mornings.  Its funny cause last month I was waking up at 6 every morning, and I thought it would be such a relief to be in the office by 10 a.m. instead of 8 a.m.  But really its like that old rule, the amount of time it takes to do something will be equal to the amount of time you have until its due.  How tired I am when I wake up doesn't seem to relate to how much sleep I get.  If i get 6 hours of sleep or 9 hours sleep I still feel tired when I wake up in the morning.  I am just not a morning person and I hate it.  I wish I could re-adjust my sleep schedule to feel nice and calm in the morning instead of deathly tired.   I couldn't sleep last night so I stayed up watching TiVo'ed Dr. Phil.  That show has hit the wall.  Its starting to become like Jerry Springer, and the actual show is never as good as the previews.  I don't remember if I mentioned this but I am strongly considering giving up tv all together.  I have to look into which of my favorite shows are available on DVD after the season is over and I may quit the cable and get Netflix or something so I can still see my old time favorites like ER.

Which reminds me I have been meaning to rent the last season of Six Feet Under.  I did not plan on ever watching it, something about the second to last season with the kidnapping plot and stuff really made me not want to watch it anymore, and I had been an avid follower of that show since its first episode ever.  But then I was on Craigslist yesterday and someone mentioned what happened in the very last episode and it ruined it for me even though I had no plans to watch the last season at all.  Now I feel like I might as well watch it so I may rent the DVD if its out, in the next few weeks.

I am debating on whether to start taking showers in the a.m. or p.m.  I take them in the mornings to help me wake up, but since I can never get myself out of bed this cuts in to the time I have to eat a healthy breakfast and I wind up stopping at lousy McDonalds and feel like a greaseball for like the next 8 hours.  Decisions, decisions.  I swear it hits me that its no surprise I can't pick a career path if I can't even decide when to shower and be done with it!

cheryl @ 11:18 | comments(0) | Permanent link

I am back again with more to write about! My stomach feels better although I skipped lunch. I might have something around 3 pm so I can have the energy to go to the gym after work. I am thinking something light like fried rice and a salad.

I just spent the last few days researching merchant accounts for a client and came up with a lot of good information. You'd think I'd be sick of writing about this stuff but sometimes writing about something just inspires me to keep writing about it to different audiences. Its like the opposite of writers block. So anyway I was doing a lot of research on chargebacks which is something I never really know what it was. I've had to file chargebacks for companies I've worked for but didn't take the time to become familar with them at all. Apparently its a widely known concept among people that do business over the internet or even do business at all. This is something that could really help me in the future if and when I set up my own e-commerce site and need to understand how accepting peoples money over the internet works. For example it is much better for a customer to contact you with a complaint rather than their credit card company. When they contact their credit card company this is called a chargeback, and if you get too many of them, Visa and Mastercard will drop you from being able to accept their cards! Can you imagine how bad that would be for a business??

Also I learned a lot more about offshore accounts for credit card processing and also setting up your business as an offshore corporation. This kind of stuff is really interesting, it is amazing how glib the websites are about annoying U.S. regulations. I always thought that kind of thing was kind of fishy but after doing a lot of research on the subject of offshore merchant accounts they seem to be perfectly legal and ethical. I guess Visa/Mastercard has set up somewhat of a monopoly in the U.S. regarding how business is supposed to be done but if you are not in the U.S. you are not forced to comply with the stiff regulations. This is good for businesses who do not fit the norm and are just seeking a way for themselves to be able to do business, too. It is only fair as long as your business isn't something crazy illegal or something.

cheryl @ 12:48 | comments(0) | Permanent link

I stopped at Dunkin Donuts on the way to work this morning for a small hazelnut coffee, light and sweet.  I should have learned my lesson all the other times I have indulged in coffee-- it does not agree with me.  My mind has been going bzzzzz like a bee all morning and I can't seem to focus on anything!  Plus my stomach is rumbling around and making me feel sick.  I don't usually drink coffee but sometimes I really feel in need of a pick me up in the morning.  Then I live to regret it the rest of the day, although it does make the time go by faster cause it is more exciting in a way!

My room has been such a mess lately.  Its all nice and decorated but with the addition of two new ferrets the stink is becoming out of control.  It was really good for a while, I have been cleaning my room a lot more often than I used to so the smell was practially non-existant, even cleaner than when I had only 4 ferrets.  But I lapsed a day or two and I haven't been mopping the floor or washing the sofa as much as I should to keep things under control.  Its like when I work full-time it doesn't matter how sedentary my job is, I am tired at the end of the day and don't feel like doing anything.  Then on the weekends I am too self-indulgent with myself, thinking the weekends are my time to relax and have fun.

I am really contemplating doing away with my tv and most of the internet except for my email checking capabilities (just because sometimes I get an important email or two).  At least then I will be so bored I will do housework!  I am thinking of making it my New Years Resolution although I would like to make it sooner....I hate to give up some of my favorite shows like House and ER though!  Especially since right after the New Year is when the new seasons of shows start like the new Apprentice will probably start then.  I have to see which of my favorite shows are available on DVD at the end of the season, maybe I will just get a Netflix account or something. 

Okay thats all for now I hope my stomach feels better soon!

cheryl @ 11:20 | comments(0) | Permanent link

Well it has been while since I had time to dedicate to my internet blog.  I have been busy with other projects and my own blog has taken a back seat.  One personal project I have been working on is registering a business name with the state of NJ so I can start selling stuff on eBay.  I need a business name and reseller license so I can go to exhibitions and buy products wholesale.  I am going to go with my original idea of pet products to start with.  I have received the advice from beginner eBay sellers to not require a lot of something I couldn't use myself if it turned out a big bomb when I go to try and sell the products.  So I am gonna start out with pet products like dog treats or something.  Start off slow.  I have considered whether I am going to use PayPal or a more sophisticated payment system such as AdvantageProcessors.com.  I am still not sure yet.  I was looking for information on what PayPal charges me for credit card transactions but so far it seems like this Advantage company has really low rates for internet merchants like me.  I guess first I will complete the neccessary paperwork which is taking me a while because I have to get hold of a fax machine!  I never have any stamps around my house and who has time to make it to the post office during the inconvenient hours.  I also have to design the graphics for a business logo and such.  I have been taking classes on Small Business Management so I am learning the importance of building strong relationships with vendors and other contacts as well as the administrative costs incurred when you don't outsource smart tasks such as the credit card processing.     

I guess I will write more tommorrow.  Maybe I will talk about how my room decorations finally turned out. 

cheryl @ 14:17 | comments(0) | Permanent link