I hung up the second of my three big pictures today.
This is a print of a wax pastel drawing of Alcatraz Island. I picked it up for a song my first night in San Francisco and discovered many days later that Alcatraz truly is that beautiful.
I hung it over the ‘sofa’ where the useful cabinet used to hang. The cabinet will be relocated to the other wall.
I just got confirmation from a friend in Dawson that my internet key should work this summer! Even though the RV park is 2km from town it gets good cell reception, so it looks like I might actually be set up for internet this summer. I’m definitely going to wait until I arrive before I suspend my service!
I finally managed to set up my online account and checked out how easy it would be to adjust my rate plan. I was a bit concerned when I saw that the plan amounts through the online account were different than from the general website. I had been told that my options were 30, 40, 50, or 65 dollars per month while the online account gave me the options of 30, 50, 65, and 85 dollars for 500mb, 1gb, 2gb, and 5gb respectively. I was concerned about a bait and switch, so I called Telus this morning and they confirmed that the general information is correct, ie. that I can get the 5gb plan for $65/months. Looks like they’ve lowered their rates, which is surprising but great news!
The rep I spoke to said that it would be best for me to call to change my rate plan and that I should do so as near to the end or beginning of a billing cycle, ie. around the ninth of the month. After I hung up, I realised that I should have effected the change to the 1gb plan right then and there. I will be able to use my account next week while on my trip and the billing period will end halfway through my drive north next month, so I’m sure that the bump to 1gb will make sense. I’ll stay on the 1gb plan into the beginning of June when I’ll know if the thing works in Dawson and also how much bandwidth I’m going to really need to do what needs to be done. There’s no doubt that I can eat up 5gb a month on an unlimited plan, but it’s time for me to scale back on my internet use. I think that moving to a limited internet plan is going to help me do that. There really is no sense in my paying $65/month if I can get by on a $40 or $50 plan.
I’m getting more and more excited about this, but will contain my enthusiasm until I can do a test post from Dawson using my own account. If I pull this off, I will save a wad of money this summer since I was seriously considering having the local ISP hardwire me for DSL for four months. Can you imagine the setup costs for that?! The monthly plans were more than I’ll be paying for Telus, too.
This contract takeover is really starting to seem like a great move. The next six weeks on it will be telling.
The ‘It’ in this case is being able to support myself on the road without having to get a j-o-b.
I got a new client this morning, completely out of the blue, who wanted me to proofread a French translation. It was a small job that will pay for next week’s groceries. As for my ‘big’ contract, I haven’t been able to do nearly as many hours as I’d been given the impression I’d have to do and, yet, there will be enough coming in from it this month to cover my car insurance payment and I won’t have to worry about my RV payment next month. At the rate April is going, I won’t have to worry about the June RVing payment either. Small things that, when added together, relieve a lot of the financial strain.
May this year isn’t looking up to be nearly as scary as it was last year. I’ll have some money coming in while I’m traveling, know that I can boondock the whole way and still be able to work most nights, and know that I will have a job and no rent when I arrive at my destination. This is starting to look more and more like what I imagined my full-time RV life would!
Unfortunately, the writing contract didn’t work out since the person running it had family issues and couldn’t administer the project. He kept on delaying the start of it and now I don’t expect anything to come from it. I’m pretty bummed, but still psyched that someone was willing to pay me for my writing.
I’m going to have a lot to juggle this summer, but still plan to work full-time at the RV park, knowing that my hours there can be adjusted if needed. I’d rather be swamped and overworked this summer, then able to take off with a clear mind in the fall, than to fritter away my time and be stuck with limited options in October. I look forward to seeing what the next few months will bring.
WHEW. I sure made this trip to Walmart worth my while! My cart was overflowing with household goods and groceries by the time I got to the cash. I’d been working on my list for a couple of weeks now and found almost everything. Home Depot will hopefully have the rest, including a grommet kit. I’ll be going there tomorrow to get more trim and will ask about my missing items.
The cashier made my night when he replied “Amazing!” to my “How are you?” I told him I love to meet people who share my zest for life, no matter what job we’re doing. We shared a couple of laughs about his packing skills and lack of adherence to the rules. I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun checking out at Walmart!
I’m glad I was able to go to Walmart tonight as planned because my boss asked me to come in to work a full shift today. I had said I would be available on standby (we knew this situation was going to come up), but there’s someone on spring break who was eager for shifts, so I hoped she would go in instead of me and she did! The money I would have made today wouldn’t have been worth losing all that home time. I did offer to go in at about 9:45 to lock up, and this was gratefully accepted. I suspect I will come home and crash after; spending a lot of money at one time always exhausts me. 😀
I want to be e-billed for my internet account rather than receiving a paper bill or, worse, having the money directly taken from my credit card. The person who effected the change of ownership of the account told me to go to My Telus and register for an online account using my account number, PIN, and postal code.
After putting away my massive Walmart order, I sat down to do the registration process only to discover that I was given an eight digit account number when I needed nine!
Right at the top of the page there was a link for ‘chat support’ for registering online. I decided to try it out. Within seconds, I was connected to a live person. He couldn’t help me out with the account number, but he was still helpful since he gave me the phone number to contact that I would have otherwise had to dig for. I called and within less than a minute I was talking to someone and had the information I needed. I’m impressed!
I am less impressed by the fact that their site is ‘having difficulties’ and that I can’t register. 🙁
