On my string of errands, I ran across a fantastic bit of news about my local library. The thing that always bothered me about donating old books was that they would inevitably end up on the sale shelf where it would bring in a hefty revenue of ten, fifteen or twenty-five cents.  Two dollars if it was a paperback. It's still income, but it felt like kind of a meager thing.

Now, not only can you still support them in the traditional ways, they've added the option of donating new books to the library via an Amazon Wish List!  That's pretty awesome.

Books purchased from the wish list are mailed directly to the Library, and a book plate stating that it was a donation is placed inside.  At the point of sale, you've got the option of selecting a personalized book plate to dedicate your gift, or asking to be the first borrower of that book.  Once the book is processed, you'll be notified that the book is on hold for you.  In this electronic age, I love that we're able to use technology to help the lending library.  And remember: your purchase is a tax deductible donation. 

Other ways our library appreciates help

• Volunteering: to help around the library; for the Adult Literacy Tutoring Program; with the Book Cellar program
  
• The usual old book donation method.  Anything they can't shelve for lending purposes goes into the Friends of the Library Book Cellar Sale
  
• Buy books from the Book Cellar Sale 
• Become a member of the Friends of the Public Library organization:  you pay dues, and volunteer time raising money for the library
• Donating to the Endowment Fund by purchasing equipment, furniture, etc. that are already existing in the library, and making the item a gift in perpetuity. 
• Purchase a book plate that will be affixed to a new hard cover book at the library with any name you like.
  

I love my hometown library. I spent days holed up in there during elementary school summers, and lugged a metric ton of books to and fro over the years.  I'd like to be able to give back in a substantial and long-lasting way, and donating new books that other people can enjoy is right up my alley. 

If you've benefited from the library's lending, please consider supporting them in some small way within your means.  Public libraries do a lot of good, and they deserve our patronage.

My trip thus far has been an exercise in patience, worry, and discovery.  As I mentioned on Twitter, my travel companions were unusually irate with each other just about the entire trip over, so I was stuck in the middle awkwardly trying to make myself as small as possible, or mediating a little bit.  Much of the grumptiude was powered by physical discomfort from various ailments of the internal growths sort + temper on one side, and oscillating glucose levels + temper on the other.  I love them both, so I did my best, but phew, I was looking forward to the arrival of another couple to defuse the tension.

Unfortunately, things were to get much worse before they got better on that front. Things did finally get better today, but more importantly, the circumstances allowed me to become very intimately acquainted with the new couple's lives. It's utterly heartbreaking.

A few years ago, she lost her mother and aunt, horrifically, due to a possible psychotic break of one sibling. Two years later, she lost her father to depression and a series of massive strokes, and to all appearances, has lost another brother to the collective horror of the past few years.  They moved from their home with two high-paying jobs to an extremely high cost of living area and both accepted 40% pay cuts to take care of her remaining family. She's heroically fighting to keep the family intact but, at this rate, it feels like there soon won't be anyone left functioning.

She tells me that my family story, told in part before she shared hers, made her feel less alone.  Now I know that my life doesn't even begin to compare to the series of ongoing tragedies that compose her reality, but it freed her to share with me some of her many trials in the life of becoming an untimely mother substitute for a younger sibling who can no longer cope with the world he's living in.

All I can say is, I have to be more grateful.

Not for the fact that her story isn't my story, because in a surprising number of ways, it is.  We share much the same concerns, fears, and trials.  But I remember what it was like to sit alone in the mental dark, wishing there was someone I could talk to, wondering if I had the strength to make the right call in the next situation.  So I should be grateful that in experiencing the things that I have, in a small way I can help her with her narrative.  Having fought through debt, bankruptcies, and plain old messed up deteriorating family relationships, I can share what decisions I made and why. I can teach her what I know about finances, I can just be there to help her through some tough chores that need doing.

These are no more than scraps in the grand scheme of things, but thusly do I find some comfort in paradise today.

This year's updated Comparison of Medical Coverage and 2010 COBRA rates have been published, and the results are not pretty at all.

Hitting the highlights of the changes:
Before: $20 copay
After: $25 copay for primary care; $40 for specialist 
Comment: I only see a specialist, so this is a major uptick in cost.  100% increase in cost; $100 v. $200 for 5 visits a year.

Before: $15/generic and $30/brand name for a 100-day supply
After: $15/generic and $30/brand name for a 30-day supply
Comment: With 2-3 prescriptions going at any given time, we're looking at 200% increase; $157.5 v. $540

Before: $20 copay
After: $25 copay
Comment: I'd probably skip this if my meds didn't carry a risk of eye damage.  Not worth skimping on $5.  25% increase; $20 v. $25.

Before: $125 allowance every 24 months for eyewear purchased from HMO
After:  $125 allowance every 24 months for eyewear purchased from HMO NONE. No coverage at all.
Comment: It's a darn good thing I've already replaced my reading glasses and only rarely need them.
Before: 324.82
After: 352.98
Comment: 9% increase on top of doubling and tripling my copays, and nearly killing off the vision care benefit. When ARRA expires and I'm paying the full price, we'll be looking at an additional $28.16/month.
Before: 49.18
After: 51.90
Comment: 5% increase with no stated changes in coverage.  To be fair, I have not been particularly on the ball about researching this area.  The summary of benefits provided on the website is here:

The maximum annual benefit paid under the Dental Plan is $1,500 per each covered person. There is no deductible for services at the Employer School of Dentistry and a $50 per person deductible ($150 for families of three or more) for services at any other Dental provider. When you use a Plan dentist (about 93% of dentists in California), the plan pays eligible, reasonable and customary dental expenses as follows:

• 100% (no deductible required) for diagnostic and preventive services, such as exams, cleanings (up to two times in a calendar year), fluoride treatment, and space maintainers.
• 80% for basic services, such as oral surgery, fillings, endodontics, periodontics, and sealants.
• 60% for major services, such as crowns, jackets, fixed bridges, and dentures.
• 50% for implants up to a lifetime maximum of $1,500.

If you use a non-Plan dentist who charges more than Plan’s allowance for service, you must pay the additional cost. Under the Plan, you also may use the services of the Employer School of Dentistry (including the faculty practice). At the Dentistry school, you get 100% coverage of most expenses and a 50% orthodontia benefit ($1,500 lifetime limit).

So if I were willing to travel 50 miles into the city and use the Employer's students, I could save quite a bit. $50 right off, and then up to $200-300 if I have to have real work done beyond the basic cleaning.


My ARRA [temporary discount on COBRA rates] expires in March 2010, and if I'm still with this HMO, I should expect to spend no less than $3500 in premiums alone, and another $800 in routine check-ups and prescriptions through 2010. Going without medical coverage is pretty much not an option for me so I'll either have to continue with this coverage in the absence of an employer-sponsored plan or research individual health plans.  *shudder*

I know it's kind of a terrible picture, but the lights twinkling in the dark, the palms blowing in the wind, and the waves of the lagoon are just so pretty.

On one friend's crises [feeling overwhelmed, needing someone to talk to, going to the ER, reporting back from the ER] alone, I've squandered at least 6 study hours over the past two days.  Add to that my serious lack of concentration, and you might see why my highly productive run-up to the NY trip was so very much NOT duplicated today. 

I meant to study a new section, do the homework and take the quiz.  Now I've run out of time to study and take my quiz since it's a forced completion deal online - once you start, you MUST finish.  Crap.

It's not like I've gotten nothing done since my return nearly 96 hours ago.  Au contraire!  I have ....

• donated books to the library 
• collected and donated two boxes of stuff to Goodwill
• rounded up and junked two more boxes worth of trash, old decrepit mementos from the junior high era 
• printed dozens of coupons for MoneyMateKate 
• scanned and filed away a sheaf of paperwork
• sorted out half a ream's worth of used paper for the printing of coupons 
• made a Walgreen's run 
• helped a friend sort through some troubles [unspecified for privacy's sake] 
• counseled a friend on family money matters [a bequest, an educational fund, investing, banking] 
• run two loads of laundry 
• read 5 new comic books 
• watched 7 episodes of Sports Night 
• began to normalize a sleep schedule of 12 am- 8am
• had a delicious burger dinner one night, an even more delicious BBQ dinner another night 

Admittedly, not everything on that list was really truly being productive.  But I should get points for honesty, even if not buckling down?  Or not.  It doesn't really matter because my books are coming with me to Hawaii and *sob* that should be punishment enough.  I won't even ask the professor for an extension, I'm just going to [finally!] bite the bullet and get it done one way or another.

Use code CMAAWARD to get any song by a CMA Award nominated artist priced at or below $1.29

Offer valid from November 9, 2009 12:00 AM PST through November 22, 2009 11:59 PM PST. You must redeem the credit by November 22, 2009 11:59 PM PST.

Go here to get the code and redeem. The promotion is limited to specific songs: find the list here. 

I'm trying to decide between Cowboy Casanova [because I like Carrie Underwood] or Chicken Fried [because it's so peppy!].  Oh!  Or Lady Antebellum's I Run to You. This is going to be a disaster.

Hat tip to Cents in the City for posting the code. 

After a day of gettin' things done, it was time for the best burger and onion rings in town.  Two towns over. My share was $8.46, the full meal for two was less than $17.

Yes, eating at home is much more economical, but it's been months since I've had this bacon cheeseburger, and it was delicious.

What's your favorite foodie indulgence?  Take out?  Dining out?

NYC was wonderful.  No new ode, I still feel the same way.  There was perhaps less glitz sparkling in my eyes, but only because the trip was shorter and it took a little longer for the rigors of traveling cross-country to wear off.

May I recommend, by the by, always using SeatGuru.com before selecting your seats?  It's truly my own fault, but I felt like I was being punished for using an award ticket to travel.  The outbound flight was ok, but the seat I was squished into on the return flight: a] wouldn't recline (way to pick the row in front of the emergency exit), the overhead light was broken, and b] was right next to the galley where business class's delectables were prepared and wheeled past me. Pasta, garlic bread, and brownies, oh my!

First, in pictures.....


Woefully underdressed upon my arrival, TopShop and I immediately became acquainted.  Those tights were really expensive but oh-so-warm.  They were daily wear: kept my legs warm AND kept my feet from blistering up a storm in the new flats.


Citi sponsored free ice skating in Bryant Park.  Am I the only one thinking that Citi shouldn't be sponsoring anything at all right now?

Mamoun's [just off the Astor Place subway stop] makes a mean schwarma sandwich. That was some amazing deliciousness for $5.

Gorgeous weather in the city ...

















I truly wish that I'd inserted my ARM in the photo for scale.  That rib bone lying across the top was the size of my forearm.  That platter was well worth the $22.  [Blue Smoke restaurant, home of the first time I've had an amazing oyster.]

"Not to rub it in, but my treat because I can get this any time. I live here, you don't!"
I hate you, friend. I love you and I hate you.

You, Ippudo, I love. Always.  Home of the snarkiest [in a good way] waitstaff ever.

Waiter overhearing a reference to San Diego: "You're from CA?"
"Yes."
"I knew it. I just knew it'd play out like that!"
"??"

Waiter: "Miss?  Miss? Would you like an extra bowl of noodles?"
Me: *mouth terribly full of pork*
Friend: Uh, she can't talk right now, she just stuffed herself full of pork.
Waiter: Runs Away.
Me: *mouth still full* Wait!

Waiter to my sloooow-eating friend:  "Can I take this away already?"
We: point and laugh at her.

Then, in numbers .....
Ticket: $7.50
Day One: $29
Day Two: $62.50
Day Three-Five: $0
Day Six: $30
Day Seven: $95
Day Eight: $44.50
Total: $ 268.50

It's a total budget cheat that I paid next to nothing for transportation [about $40 for airfare and Metro] and nothing at all for lodgings due to the repeat generosity of my friends.  What kind of advice could really be derived from this?  Have good friends in strategic places?  For what it's worth, I absolutely intend to pay it forward.

I spent a ton on clothes: $55 at TopShop for 2 pairs of tights and a pair of leggings. They're all super comfortable and made of good material which is not the case for the discounted stuff I found at Filene's [and they made me look funny.]

There was also a Blitzkrieg trip to H&M where I picked up a grey sweaterdress, black belt and white long sleeve for another $50. The sweaterdress replaces a black cowl-neck dress (circa 2002) and is now falling apart. The long sleeve is the beginning of my replacing ratty old long sleeved layers (circa 2004).

Happily, no jet lag, but definitely a little discombobulation after returning home late.  The suitcase remains unpacked which is distinctly odd - opening mail and unloading the suitcase are usually the first things I do when I get home. 

Some ramblings for y'all 'til I get it together ....

Audio
Had Ramit on in the background for 45 seconds.

Water Bill
48% decrease.  What happened? 

Piperlime
These shoes came in, but the day after 7 hours of travel and fat feet is not the time to try on new shoes. I mostly ordered them to check for fit (they have free shipping and free returns), and for the $25 off next purchase coupon.

Returns pile
I went to the trouble of buying a pack of AAA batteries in NY for my mouse. That I left at home in CA.  And then found out that I actually just needed a single AA.  Back to Walgreens later today.

Cobra/Open Enrollment
This is a whole other post - but turns out I still get to participate in O.E. this November.  Oh goody!  New rates!  Oh wait. ...

Netbook lust
I was woefully out of touch this past week because my regular laptop [which I love!] is just too heavy to schlock around the city.  The longing for a netbook is pushing me to consider .... dun-dun-duuunnnn.... BLACK FRIDAY!

Feel free to weigh in on that last topic, folks, recommendations, warnings, etc.  No enabling necessary!  I have set the boundary: it has to be under $200. 

Aren't these tomatoes beautiful?  Eight ounces of mini mozzarella balls cost the same as a 8-oz chunk of the cheese that I'd normally buy; I'm glad I went with these little dollops instead. They were much easier to serve, just peel open the jar and plop - place gently - on the sliced tomatoes.  A dash of olive oil and a few dashes of balsamic vinegar finished the plating nicely.

This salad was served with a side of buttered crumpets that I have no photos of because, er, I devoured them.  They were awfully pretty, toasted, but you'll just have to take my word for it. Sorry!