Brilliant!

WC shared this with me last night so I'm sharing it with you.

Enjoy!

Question.

What do allergies feel like?  I've never had them before but am wondering if that's what's wrong with me now because I haven't been able to stop sneezing since just before I got on the elevator to leave the gym about 2.5 hrs ago. And I rarely sneeze.  Like, for reals.

My eyes are mildly itchy - my right one anyway - and my nose is runny, again, mostly my right nostril (TMI?) and I'm a regular Sneezy dwarf. 

Seriously.

This is NOT COOL.

Partition

I have a Macbook Pro that's been partitioned to run Windows as well as Mac OS which is great because until recently, there were some things that I could only do in the Windows environment, like track my finances using Quicken. (Yes, I'm a nerd.)

I've since gotten Quicken Essentials which runs on Mac and as my tax software of choice, TurboTax is now available for Mac as well, I have no need for Windows any longer.

My challenge then, is what to do with all the excess space on that partitioned hard drive?  I'll have to do some research to resolve that but I've been bumping up against the cap on my Mac hard drive so have begun the process of uploading all the inspiration photos I've saved to Tumblr here in order to free up some space.  I've saved more than 2000 images over the last 4 years so this migration will take awhile.  Meanwhile, it's lovely to revisit what struck my fancy in the past:

Tis the Season

Yup, that time of year is just around the corner.  For my sister and friends who work in financial services, it's the dreaded crazy-stupid busy period in the lead up to the February 28 deadline to make last-minute contributions to your RRSPs in time for the 2010 tax year.

Now, I wouldn't normally write about RRSPs since I've never particularly been interested in investing - at least in financial instruments.  A statement bag?  Yup.  A diamond pendant or the go-girl right-hand ring?  Sure.  But those are all pretty "investments" that are tangible and that I can wear on my person.  A stock or mutual fund?  Where's the fun in that?

Seriously though, I came across this headline in the Star today - Fewer Canadians 18 to 34 have RRSPs, bank poll finds - and for some reason, clicked through.  Seems only 39% of my contemporaries today have an RRSP compared to 62% who said they did 5 years ago.  The main reasons cited for not investing include the desire to reduce debt, save for a rainy day, or home ownership.  On that last point, I have to say that one of the key reasons I'm a homeowner today is because I invested in an RRSP just about as soon as I started working full-time and was eligible to take part in a company-sponsored plan: I "paid" myself first by having a percentage of my pay cheque automatically deducted and invested into an RRSP and maxed out on any employer matching programs offered.  On the former, I'm not tempted to spend the money on stuff I don't need and on the latter, any funds matched are "free" money to me.  And who doesn't want free money?  I then took advantage of the Government of Canada's Home Buyers' Plan and withdrew funds tax-free from my RRSP to help pay for the down payment on my condo.   

Interestingly enough, the year-end statement for my employer-sponsored plan arrived today and frankly, I'm always pleasantly surprised by how much I've socked away because I honestly don't think about the biweekly deposits I make into this plan.  The best is seeing all that "free" money in matched contributions - a sweet 16% of my porftolio is made up of these funds!

So, if I can share any investing advice with you, it will be as I advised my brother when he first started work: make sure you participate in your company-sponsored RRSP and take advantage of any employer matching programs offered.  Some company's match a percentage point for every year of service, i.e. if you've worked 1 year, they'll match up to the first 1% of your contribution so the 2% of your salary that you've contributed is now actually 3%. In real numbers, assuming you make $50K a year, the $1000 you've put away in your RRSP is now $1500 - that's $500 "free."   I'm not even going to get into the benefits of compounding interest and the potential of lower weighted-average costs of investment. 

Even if you don't work for a company with these benefits, open up an RRSP account.  There are so many resources online to help you with that and if you're nervous about doing it on your own, get some help and visit your local branch.  Despite what 50% of Americans think, you're probably not going to retire from the lottery so be responsible about your future.

iPhone4!!!

My iPhone 4 finally arrived on Wednesday, about a week earlier than expected from Apple. I had ordered it online Sep 18 because I refused to queue for it and when the email notice of its delivery hit my inbox on Monday, I took advantage of FedEx's tracking capability and eagerly anticipated its arrival.

I've had it now for 4 nights and can I tell you what a time suck it is? I've spent WAY too much time browsing apps and downloading them but OMG so much fun! I'm so happy with this purchase, part of it funded by birthday money from my siblings.

I downloaded a wack of games this afternoon after finishing Airport Mania. What to play next...?


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

iPhone 4 vs. Galaxy S

I thought I wanted the iPhone 4 but then my brother opened my eyes to the Galaxy S by directing me to this YouTube hands-on face-off and now I'm second-guessing myself. 

Rationalizing

I got a piece of mail from Rogers, my cable and internet provider this week announcing changes to their cable pricing.  Normally I just toss these into my recycling but I've been reading Money Sense so fiscal responsibility is top of mind.  I thought about the TV that I actually watch - none of which lately include the specialty channels I've been paying a premium for so I called and downgraded my package, which saved me $30 a month.

Next on my list was my internet usage. I've been paying for 60GB of usage a month when my history for the last 6 months shows an average of about 5GB per month.  Stupid, right?  I'm actually rather annoyed at myself for throwing my money away but no more! The 20 minutes I just spent on the phone with the customer service rep will save me almost $500 a year!  So, yay for saving money!

Mon-Key

This is adorable:

Sick Day

I saw my doctor in the 'burbs this morning for my annual check-up and was fine when I left, but by the time I arrived back home downtown and was getting ready for work I was COLD. I mean, so cold that even with the heat on, fleece and a down vest I could not shake the chills. So I called in sick and spent the afternoon in bed. I'm feeling much better now, though I'm still very tired. But at least I'm not cold anymore.

Double whammy

I queued up for my flu shots after work yesterday. My first attempt last week during the lunch hour was unsuccessful so I decided to try again, particularly after hearing the news that Toronto Public Health would be closing the clinics this Sunday to re-open again in January.

I queued for about 30 minutes before sitting down for seasonal and H1N1 shots, the former in my right deltoid and the latter in my left - I'm only being this specific because that's what the nurse checked in the computer system.

I was fine for my work-out afterwards but the pain came soon enough because my sleep last night awful. I'm a side sleeper and I couldn't lie comfortably on either because both arms hurt. And this morning - the simple act of lifting my arm up to the side away from my body pained me.

I was super-slow today too...started the day off right by breaking an egg on my kitchen runner and then there was the long, slushy walk to ride...which actually wasn't too bad because my gum boots kept my feet through the crazy-big puddles. Those boots saved me today.

I re-scheduled my personal training session to Friday because of the pain in my arms and settled in with the grand plan of getting caught up on my admin stuff...but I've been procrastinating of course and haven't checked any of the items off my list of to dos. sigh.

QOTD

"If we do not forgive, it is like carrying heavy baggage that weighs us down so we cannot go forward with it, but we cannot go without it as it contains our history...it is like holding on to hot coals but we are the ones getting burned."

- Ed & Deb Shapiro

Blue Crystal Snowflake

I've never been into collecting coins but this $20 silver coin in the Royal Canadian Mint's current holiday gift guide has me re-considering numismatics.

AWESOME

Came across Mysterious Letters through Grace's Twitter feed and was charmed. The letters and postcards read very much like Nick Bantock's Griffin & Sabine, only they're real!

In April 2009, we sent a personal, handwritten letter to each of the 467 households in the small Irish village of Cushendall. We hoped these unsolicited letters would prompt neighbourly discussion, spreading across the town, promoting community curiosity.

The art work consists solely of the discussion between the recipients about what on Earth these letters are, who sent them and why, etc.

Adorable cuteness

Catching up on my blogs and just came across this video of eight baby pandas via Disgrasian. So adorable...

See more funny videos and Cute Animals Videos at Today's Big Thing.

...but still not quite as adorable as our own little Piglet, who was here for a week and left this past Sunday. I miss her morning giggles which served as my wake up call over the long weekend that I stayed at my mother's.

"Gorgeous Teeth"

That's what one of the hygienists said as as they were working at putting the permanent wire in behind my bottom teeth before taking the braces off - which they offered to me as a souvenir. (Um...no, thank you.) I can't help but smile now and run my tongue across the front of my teeth. So smooth. I also can't help but run it across the back because there are these little bumps now where the bonding agent was applied to keep the wire in place.

To celebrate the occasion, my orthodontist had a presentation for me, which I'd missed the first time around - after we had our picture taken together for his wall, he gathered his staff around and they sang me a song to the beat of a toy drum and tambourine: "You're braces are off, they're off, they're off! Hurrah! Hurrah! You're braces are off, they're off, they're off! Hurrah! Hurrah!" It was just a touch embarassing, but at least there were gift certificates from Baskin Robbins to sweeten the deal. :)

My braces are off! They're off! They're off! Hurrah! Hurrah!! :D

Now if only I had an apple to bite into...It's been about 14 months since I've bitten into a whole apple and since I'm leaving in a couple days, I haven't re-stocked my fridge with fresh fruits and vegetables so I'm apple-less. Oh well. Meanwhile, my bag's still not packed, but my cabs are booked!

Sick day

I woke up feeling fine but started feeling nauseous and it has persisted. So I'm home sick. Blah.

LOL!

via A Cup of Jo

Converted

I'm not a bath person but after taking a shower last night and making an awful mess because I don't yet have a shower curtain rod and therefore no shower curtain, I decided tonight was the perfect time to give my deep soaker tub a try....and you know what? I think I may just be a convert to baths...maybe at least once a week - particularly after I get myself one of those little bath pillows to rest my head against!

Still feeling warm and perhaps a little drowsy...time for bed!

Cute little kitties...

Geoff Howe / THE CANADIAN PRESS via

How adorable are these white bengal tiger cubs that were unveiled today at the Children's Zoo section of the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park and Zoo in Saskatchewan? They are Jasmine and Jafar, born on May 31 to a pair that is on loan from the Toronto Zoo.

Huh.

I've been asked about my orthodontist twice in the last 2 days: the first time was yesterday, when I met with our VP Finance. She noticed that I had braces and asked if I'd recommend mine since she's thinking about getting her teeth corrected again (like me), and just now, via email, one of my mandarin classmates asked if I'd recommend my orthodontist. Quel coinkydink.

That's all.