I stayed up late watching King Kong and thinking an hour could’ve been trimmed from the film to great effect. While this gave me the opportunity for a late night load of laundry, I failed to consider the effect it would have on me at work particularly since I hadn’t set the living room clock forward an hour — a fact I didn’t consider until I was staggering out of the shower several hours later wondering why I felt so tired (duh, I shorted myself an hour of sleep!) Plus, I didn’t have time to go to the bank before work, so I spent all day running around with twenty-four twenty-dollar bills in my wallet. Thankfully, we weren’t robbed.

It wasn’t particularly busy at the Indy, which was good, but I felt like I was interacting with everyone through a thick glass. I’ve been working inside on Monday and Fridays because The-Old-New-Guy quit without notice (Silent Bob, Sketchy, and Zapp also work inside shifts to help out). In any case, lack of sleep combined with five hours on my feet, by the time Gary got rid of me (I’m glad he didn’t take me up on my offer to work until four so he could go home before coming back to close) and I settled into the driver’s seat of my car, sitting felt sooooo good I considered taking a nap right there and then (racing seats, don’tcha know).

Once I got to the bank, I was delayed by JWER calling out of the blue wanting to know if I wanted to go to Opening Day. Apparently, whoever he was supposed to go with backed out, and then everyone else he called couldn’t go. I’m not a big fan of baseball, but if I wasn’t working tonight, I think I would’ve gone just so I could say I had. In any case, thanks to the timing of his call (thanks), I got stuck behind some snotty soccer mom who took forever making her deposit and double-checking her account balance (with a pen!!!!) and subtracting her outstanding checks (out-loud!) , but the oh my god I’m in hell expression on the teller’s face was, well, enough to keep me from making an ATM deposit anyway.

My eBay auctions ended over the weekend. Aside for Fool demanding a couple of DVDs, all I sold was Kingdom Hospital. I don’t think eBay is the way to go for DVD liquidations, and I’m considering trying to see how much I might get from Record & Tape Traders. Anyone know other places in the Towson/Hunt Valley vicinity that purchased used DVDs? Anyone have experience with the level of compensation at these places?

Greg wants me to stay late at the franchise after we close tonight. He’s stripping and waxing the floor and wants me to help him and Steve. He promises cash. I’m undecided — I need the money, and I’ve vowed to work as much as possible to bolster my financial situation before the semester, but on the other hand, I’m tired and my legs are aching. I think that depending on how much money, and how long it’ll take, and how tired I am will be the deciding factors.

Keeping with that, I worked out a new budget. Problem is, I don’t make a fixed income, so it can be a problem working out a fixed budget when one might might yield an extra fifteen-hundred in earnings over the previous (or vice-versa). I’ve neglected my savings account since my car accident last October, and I haven’t been paying my parents as much as I should have, so those are both priorities. I’m tracking my expenses on a note card I keep in my wallet — I’m budgeting myself at $150 a week, but that includes my gasoline costs (at least $70 a week) and grocery bills. Thankfully, I don’t go out much. When the semester begins, I’m anticipating this part of the budget will be cut by a third to help compensate for my reduced hours at work. Maybe Gary’ll let me raid the sub-line …

I’m getting rid of AT&T. I realized I don’t use my home phone for anything I can’t use my cell phone for. All the home phone is good for is getting five or six telemarketers a day calling. I don’t even answer my home phone anymore. I figure, if it’s someone I want to talk to, they’ll leave a message. But I also figure, if it’s someone I want to talk to, they’ve probably got my cell phone number. (Besides, I figure if BGE hikes rates as much as they’re threatening, getting rid of AT&T will help cover that budget wise).

Speaking of BGE, I love this time of the year. No need to run the climate control through the end of September, if I’m lucky. Last year, my BGE bills for the summer were about thirty bucks.

My landlord raised my rent $25. In the “soften the blow” note, they point out this is some percent below the average. Whatever. They raise it every year, probably because I got such a kickass deal on this place to begin with. In any case, I’ve committed to a fourth year in this apartment, which will begin June 10th. This is the longest I’ve lived anywhere since I moved out of my parents’ house.