CD Labeling

I’ve always loved making my own CDs, but the OCD in me has a real problem with the fact that I have to write what is on them in sharpie. No matter how careful I am or now nice I try and make it look, it doesn’t take away the fact that it’s just sharpie on a CD. So eventually I get sick of it and the CD disappears…never to be seen again.

In addition to just trying to get over it, I also bought one of those supposedly fancy CD labelers that lets you print out and attach labels to your CDs. It was a great idea… I could print out my own labels, put them on the CDs and then no more sharpie! However it didn’t work quite that way. The attached label makes a CD thicker and thicker CDs do not get along with my car’s CD player that well. After having about four get stuck, it was back to square one.

Now I’m back to sharpie. And I guess it’ll be like that for a while. Unless its for a project or something since I’m in Art school and have to produce a lot of DVDs. I may have to look into cd screen print technology. That way I’d have nice CDs/DVDs that I wouldn’t have to worry about; they wouldn’t get stuck in anything! And one less thing for me to worry about is always a good thing!

Quickie Update

Decided to pop in a post quick before I go to bed.

True to my word, Saturday I went to see Date Night like I had planned. It was amazing! I went with my best friend and just could not stop laughing. The whole way through the movie we kept looking at each other and going “THATS US!” and in the end we decided that it really was what we’d do in the same situation. Only we’d probably end up dead because that’s just our luck.

So yeah, if anybody reading this is on the fence about going to see it.. GO! You won’t be disappointed!

And now I need to go to bed. Lots of work to do in the AM.

Content Helpers

I’ve always admired bloggers who provide articles on various subject for their readers. Even though I own a personal blog and this one, I’ve always wanted a content-specific blog as well. But I was unsure of whether or not I would be able to come up with enough to say that my readers would stay interested. But now I’m seeing that there are places out there that can help out when you don’t know what to say. There are tons of great directories like Article Alley which provide articles that people can use for free on their blogs and websites.

You can find articles on nearly any subject imaginable. All you have to do is hop on one of these sites and start looking through the content. If you see anything that interests you or you think your readers would like, then you can check if there are any requirements to post it and if you can meet them, then the article is yours! I’m really thinking about doing this when I finally get around to starting my technology / gaming / entertainment related blog. That way I won’t always be pressed to come up with topics and will be able to keep up a fairly aggressive posting schedule. Whether I want to talk about SEO or gaming or the newest gadget out from Apple, I’ll always have something to post about!

Why Doesn’t It Work?

Neither of my roommates are exactly tech savvy, so every time they have a computer issue, they immediately come to me in hopes that I can fix it for them. I don’t mind it at all since I’m not actually putting my Information Technology degree to any other good use. And most of the time I can figured out whatever is wrong and show them how to fix it and TA DA! They’ve learned something new.

However, the other night my roommate B came and told me she was having a problem printing to the printer that she shares with our other roommate BW. The document indicated that it had been sent to the printer, but nothing ever actually printed. B had never been able to connect wirelessly to the printer like BW, so she was actually tethered to it via the USB cable. And obviously when you’re directly attached to something, its really hard to understand why it doesn’t work.

I decided to try and help out, so my first task was to try turning the printer off and back on again. When that didn’t work I went on to my list of usual problems… I checked for a jam, unplugged the USB cable from her laptop and plugged it back in, tried disconnecting from the printer and connecting again. Then I got frustrated… I reinstalled the printer software on her computer, I searched online for a free printer driver download which might help fix it.

By this time about an hour had passed and I still could not figure out what was wrong. I was about ready to throw the stupid thing out the window. So I moved the printer to grab a piece of paper that had fallen behind it and suddenly realized what the problem was… Even though the USB cable was securely plugged into B’s laptop didn’t mean it was securely plugged into the printer…

It worked fine after that…

Money Worries

Just finished sitting down and updating my little notebook with all my spending since the beginning of April. I’m trying my best to keep track of every penny that leaves my possession in exchange for goods, services, etc so that at the end of the month I can sit down and look it over to see where I’m spending the most money at and the areas where I’m spending more money than I should (i.e. fast food, movies, etc). I’ve never been more worried about my finances than I am now; especially since I have been unable to find a steady job even though I’ve been looking for almost 6 months now.

Plus, its 10 times worse right now because I keep coming up with things that I actually legitimately need. I need to get my medicine prescriptions filled (one that I know my insurance won’t cover at all), since it’s getting hotter and I live in a house with other people I need some shorts since all my night clothes consist either of long pants or boxer shorts, I need gas for my car, I need groceries so I can actually eat.. It just seems like a never-ending list of things that I need to spend money on, and yet there’s relatively little money actually coming in.

I came back to school with $700 to last me through 11 weeks which is roughly $63/week. But in an attempt to save money I’m trying to budget myself to $50/week with extra money rolling over to and overages subtracting from the next week (since I’m sure there will be weeks when I won’t spend any money and other weeks that I’ll spend more than $50 like when I have to pay my cell phone bill next week). I’m already 1/2 way through Week #1 without spending any money, but tomorrow I need to go fill my prescriptions, so there’s going to be a sizable chunk of change gone.

I just don’t want to end up someone who screws themselves over by raking up a lot of debt and destroying their credit score. While I’m sure that bad credit loans are really helpful for some people when they’re trying to crawl their way back out, it’s just not something that I really want to have to do in the future. I’m the daughter of a banker, so I know how bad it can get and how hard it is to get back out again. So my goal is to keep my credit score right where it is (it’s good right now) and do everything I can to stay on top of this.

Finally Finished!

I can’t believe it… I’m finally finished with my DU application. There were a couple times when I didn’t think I’d ever get it done. Especially since part of the application was the complete redesign of my portfolio whitneyfay.net. But I completed that portion last night and turned it in and today I went to the Registrar’s office and requested my transcripts be mailed to DU and that was the last step. Everything is finished so I can now start the month-long worrying process and hoping/praying every day that I get in.

Hopefully soon though I’ll be able to head up to Pittsburgh and check out the campus since I’ve never been there before. I’ll also get to meet with representatives from the department I applied to, so hopefully I can use the visit as a way to get my foot in the door and make them remember me for when it comes time to stamp my application “yes” or “no”. Regardless, I’m extremely excited to begin this next phase of my life, whether it means going back to school or finding something else. I’ve got a bunch of job opportunities sitting in my inbox to look over. A couple are actually full-time positions while others are just some freelance work that I’ll probably pick up.

I’m really loving being a freelancer. It gives you so much freedom to set your own hours, do the work you want to do, and get paid all different amounts.. The only downside is that sometimes there’s long periods of time between jobs and when that happens you’re kind of screwed for money.

Squeak Squeak

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Alvin and the Chipmunks. All opinions are 100% mine.

I am a GIGANTIC sucker for cute movies, so when Alvin and the Chipmunks the Squeakquel hit theaters, you couldn’t keep me away. I LOVED the movie and have been waiting for it to come out on DVD ever since. I used to watch the cartoon all the time when I was a kid and would always sing along with the things I knew. The girls were my favorite part, so obviously the fact that they were in this movie was a HUGE plus for me.

And now I can finally say “ITS HERE!” because the movie is now out on DVD, Blu-Ray and even Digital Download! I really can’t decide which to get, since I have a Blu-Ray player and a DVD player. I think I may have to opt for the best release of the movie: the Double DVD Pack. Not only does it come with the movie, but it also includes a bonus disc called “The Squeak Along”. I’ve always been a fan of sing-along movies and this one has even more awesome songs and chipmunk-y goodness. If it sounds like something you’re interested in, you can buy it now from Amazon and save over 30%.

In addition to having a great DVD release, there is even More Munk Mayhem on the DVDs website. It even has a section where you can “Munk Yourself” and create your own little look-alike chipmunk. I had a go at making my own as you can see and she looks…interesting…to say the least. You can even include an audio message with your Munk. I just took a screenshot of mine before it was completed so that I could include it here, but isn’t she cute with her raver makeup and strange hoodie / skirt combo?

I’m actually extremely excited for this DVD to join the original Alvin and the Chipmunks DVD that’s already in my collection. And if you haven’t already seen it… what is wrong with you? Go now and watch it because it’s amazing! Nothing beats three little chipmunks sining “All the Single Ladies” by Beyonce!

New Layout

Decided it was time for a new layout here! I don’t have time to make my own right now since I have so much going on and classes start again in about a day so I snagged a really awesome one from the WP Themes Database. I love it since its so simple and yet elegant at the same time. I love it and I hope that you guys will all love it too!

But now it’s time for me to go to bed because I’m sick right now and exhaustion is really not helping that out at all.