belly up to the blog.

after i dig around the plants i notice this HUGE effen WORM thing… so i snag a bag from inside and capture it, tie it off, and throw it in the garbage. i notice half the plants in that row are missing considerable leaves… lovely.

then i come home today and realize the same ravaging has occurred in another row! i find ANOTHER of these huge green worms! so i snapped some pics to show it’s damage to yet another group of leaves and an unripen tomato! bastage! turns out it’s the caterpillar stage of a large sphinx moth (Manduca sexta). i really don’t care what it is… i just want them GONE.

coupon fiend.

sp115 — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 03:43:05 +0000

ok so i decided 8 months ago to start printing some coupons off the webby web to see if i could save some buckage at the g-store. much to my pleasure, i wound up saving on average 25% per visit. no, i don’t buy crap i don’t need, junk food, etc… i strategically look for coupons that serve a purpose to me — be it thru products i normally purchase — or trying new products. *occasionally* i will buy something of “lesser quality” just to save some SERIOUS cash.

then i researched the ‘net for more ways to find coupons. and i found lots. then i started buying sunday papers just for the coupon inserts (i know, what a WASTE of good trees!).

so now i, on average, save about 35%-75% off each grocery bill. how do i do this? OCD, baby. nah, actually i looked at it like a small part time job. if i devote about 2-3 hours per week between internet, newspaper, clipping, sorting and reviewing sales circulars, i save some serious buckage.

here’s the method to my couponing madness:

1. contact your local grocery stores to see what their coupon policy is. most double coupons up to 20. sometimes they’ll TRIPLE them (harris teeter does this occasionally). not all stores, even in the same chain, have the same policies. they vary BY STORE. make a 2 minute call, it can save some duckets.

2. print/clip coupons.

3. organize (yes, i have an organizer from the dollar store, silly, i know). trash expired coupons.

4. remember the coupons u have (it’s MUCH easier if you can devote a little short term memory to recall what you have stashed in the organizer as you review circulars).

5. review sales circulars. make special notes about BOGO or BOG2 items – these add up!

6. jot down on a notepad (by store) the items u want to purchase, and the price, in case there’s a discrepancy at the store.

7. pull out corresponding coupons, by store, and organize them in the order the store is laid out. clip them together and label the top with the store’s initials. huge time saver once at the store so you don’t have to fiddle thru stacks of disorganized coupons.

8. go to the stores, and EVEN look at the stuff you didn’t pull coupons for JUST in case there are some killer deals.

9. as you go thru and put items in the cart, put the corresponding coupon on the cart seat so you know it’s been used and you move on to the next coupon.

–>10. and for the seriously devoted couponer… if you go to manufacturer’s websites, fill in the comment/contact us section and say something like “i love your products, they really make my life ____ (adjective)” and include your name and home address… 9 out of 10 will MAIL you coupons!

–>11. oh, and sign up for the weekly circulars to be emailed to you on the grocery store websites. c’mon, you spend time at work surfing the internet achieving NOTHING so why not spend a little of that time doing something productive — like saving some george washingtons.

why this works especially well for me is this.. within a 4 mile radius of my house i have 4 grocery stores (harris teeter, bi-lo, lowe’s foods, food lion). food lion usually has NIL in terms of deals with coupons because they don’t double. so i avoid them usually. anyway, i figure if i travel to the farthest grocery store, then back track to the other 2, i spend on average, $2 in gas – worst case. $1 for the sunday paper. so $3 investment to save 35%-75% on my bill? hell yeah. i’m down like john brown.

i’ve gotten marinades, sauces, rice, and meal “helpers” for FREE. yep. think about it… if you have a 75¢ off coupon, tripled… that’s $2.25 off! if Lawry’s marinades are on sale, 2/$4, then i get 2 for free! uncle ben’s rice small box is like $1.75, one coupon for 75¢ off – doubled – $1.50, so i get the box for 25¢. not too shabby. i’ve stocked my pantry FULL of these items. then i take advantage of cleaning products, toilet tissue (yeah, the good kind), etc coupons for killer deals when the store runs some huge discount on them. and i STOCK UP. so, yeah, i might have 32 rolls of TP in my closet, but that’s ok… it won’t go bad.

the BOGO (buy one get one free) and BOG2 (buy one get 2 free) items are GEMS. for instance, bi-lo runs a great special on pre-cooked, peeled and deveined shrimp (21-30ct). BOG2. that’s 3 bags of shrimp for like $14. i freeze them and pull them out when i want ‘em. granted, it means freezing your stuff, but with gas and food prices soaring, that’s fine by me.

so it’s like a game now. i STRIVE to beat my last personal best. i don’t CARE if people at the store roll their eyes at me because i’m walking like a granny, squinting my eyes to scour the aisles for crazy deals… or holding up the line because i have 40 coupons. i’m saving some money and i’m playing the game, so piss off.

install the coupon bar (only works in IE – poo) and it’ll give you a greater variety to print. it’s available on www.couponmom.com

here are some links to great sites i’ve found thus far for coupons…

http://www.freestufftimes.com/coupons/page/2/

http://couponmom.coupons.smartsource.com/WEB/index.aspx?Link=WOOX5QMOGEYUM

http://family.go.com/tagsearch-coupon/groceries/

http://couponbar.coupons.com/CouponBarWebEdition.asp

http://www.wow-coupons.com/index.php

http://www.couponsurfer.com/pg_show.cfm?pg_id=12

http://mr-oczka.0catch.com/coupons1.htm

http://www.coolfreeoffer.com/Coupons.html

http://www.angelfire.com/sd2/stealsanddeals/coupons.html

http://afullcup.com/upload/printable-coupons/28457-long-long-list-printable-coupons-abc-order.html

http://shop.safeway.com/superstore/sixframeset.asp?page=print

http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/grocery-stores/

http://www.eatbetteramerica.com/coupons/

http://www.specialoffers.com/grocery-printable/

http://www.realfreebies.com/coupons.html

http://couponocean.com/printable-coupons/?PHPSESSID=cd7aed42eb9ed71249385d93d1f9179f

www.coupons.com

http://offers.e-centives.com/registration/col.cfm?type=portal&id=4FDC2C0F-30B4-4697-97FB-381B8AF0CD08&hp=1

final note: yes, it’s not fun or easy to get started with this system. takes some time perfecting it.. and my system may not work for you.. but, nothing ventured, nothing gained. give it a shot. start slowly, and build. once you realize the immense savings.. you’ll probably get sucked into just like i was..

wrinkles of life

sp115 — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 03:25:18 +0000

my papa (pawpaw) wrote this in ’02. he passed a few years later. wanted to throw out some props to the best man ever. i love ya papa, and miss you dearly.

The Wrinkles of life

The old man was still, as he sat in his rocker
Thinking of days gone by
Each line in his face, a story to tell
Of the memories in his life
A kid of nineteen out on his own
Not knowing what the world is about
Caring not of himself or where he might roam
A buck in his pocket, and a big night out
He let the good times roll, as he toiled in the sun
Driving nails with a vengeance each hour
Waiting for the days work to be done
His lady in waiting – waiting in the bar
The whiskey was good and the lights were bright
Which made him a big man, he thought
But the dawn of the day, after a terrible night
Gave naught but pain he had bought
The money flowed and the times were good
As he played the game of a fool
The ladies, they loved, but all understood
His love was old, and no longer cool
The years were many, as they took their toll
Of his missing youth and health,
As he remembered the days – days of old
When youth was in control of emotions felt
Upon rising each morn his body would scream
As he toiled to get out of bed
His youth was now gone and all his dreams
Swept away by the life he had led
In the twilight of life and all his work done
The old man chuckled as he thought,
Without the memories, and all the fun,
Who could live in this world in a box
The wrinkles continue and the spots they turn brown
But the spirit is strong, as the shadows fall
And in time he will slumber in a bit of ground
Waiting for the judgment, and the Makers call

Clete Walker
7-10-02

i’m outsourcing my soul to india to get to heaven more cheaply.

sp115 — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:17:17 +0000

what is up with all these “american” companies outsourcing everything to india, the phillipines, etc… ? our capitalistic society is based on fueling the economy with commerce… and yet we are sending our jobs to other countries? is this a W plan or something?

the latest pitfall to commerce outsourcing is the Charlotte Observer. let’s analyze this:

THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER.
the name alone implies it’s LOCAL.
it reports news in our LOCAL vicinity.

now the graphics are going to be done in the phillipines. lovely.

i don’t have a problem with phillipinos. i don’t have a problem with giving folks jobs. but when OUR peeps are being bypassed because somebody in a 3rd world (or a thriving, productive country, even) will work for pennies on the dollar… we need to step back and look at this problem.

it’s going to be a never-ending, perpetuating cycle of crap that winds up making the US of A a poor country before we know it. inflation is thru the roof as we speak, there’s this corn crisis, gas is ridiculous, there’s major flooding and catastrophes striking different parts of our country that just add to it all… and we’re slashing jobs? thus adding to the already snowballing blackhole called our economy. yeah, there’s a cycle, there’s an ebb and flow to our economy… and we’ve been here before, only BEFORE we kept the JOBS HERE.

should i move to india or the phillipines to secure a job? the cost of living there is way cheap, the salaries are stupendously low, but hey, i’d have an advantage, right? i speak perfect english and my grammar is pretty tight. i can’t even live in my own country for fear that my job will be sent elsewhere, so i’ll just pack my bags now and wait for the impending doom.

maybe we should just move all the indians or phillipinos here to the states… then when they realize they can command triple the price, it’ll make our companies go, whoa nelly!, sumpin’ ain’t right… and maybe they’ll give us our jobs back. i think that’s called COMPETITION!

well i gotta run… pack my bags and secure a flight to india. i hear American Express is hiring.

ocd for my muzik

sp115 — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 20:32:38 +0000

ack. i get a song in my head or find a new song i really love and seriously, i’ll listen to it 100 times a day, or more. repeat. over and over. ridiculous.

songs stuck in my head and cd player:

adele – best for last
yael naim – new soul
stealers wheel – stuck in the middle with you
van morrison – moondance
incubus – dig
paolo nutini – alloway grove

Anne Springs Close Greenway

sp115 — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 16:56:49 +0000

the anne springs close greenway in fort mill is my little slice o’ heaven in a 7 minute drive. swinging bridges, creeks, ponds, lakes, hiking, mountain biking, camping, horses, cows, goats… flora & fauna abound. peace & tranquility.

everyone should visit at least once. it’s 2,300 acres of protected, private land. and it’s gorgeous.

here’s the newly updated (and quite awesome) map they posted.

here are some pics:

BEAUTIFUL!

found my new tattoo.

sp115 — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 16:33:22 +0000

a patrick swayze centaur. can life get any better? i submit that it cannot.

it’ll look great next to my I <3 Sam Walton tattoo..

HD i wanna kill you.

sp115 — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 14:05:58 +0000

i was fine. i was minding my own business.

my tv was fine. my receiver was fine. my crappy dvd player was JUST fine.

then here comes this new fangled, flat screen, lcd or plasma, hdtv debacle.

oh, no sweat, just buy a tv, right? uh, no. just buy a receiver? uh, no. just a … no! no! no! no! no! i’m not paying some zit-faced g33k at best buy to explain it to me, or to come install it.

so i’ve been pouring over what seems like the size of a freightliner’s worth of data on the big ol’ intanets and i’ve gotten skiddily-biddily-bop – nowhere!!! talk about some puzzling, mind-numbing SHIT!

so i know i need a 40″ or 42″ (i’m TOTALLY compensating). and i want at least 2 hdmi inputs and 1080p. blah. MY BRAIN IS EXPLODING!

receiver? receive THIS! aaaccckk. there are too many options, too many places to buy these things from.. i need a school class just to understand all this crap!

i think i found the tv i want and the receiver, but.. the mounting bracket and the cables are super expensive, too! oh where’s the HD fairy when you need her? someone just graze past my face whilst sleeping, sprinkle some techy dust on me and drop some science on this girl. please.

-fin

hola

sp115 — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:57:02 +0000

well ok so i’ve been coerced into starting a bloggy blog of my very own.

no, no one forced a gun to my temple but a buddy of mine has a blog and he’s on top of it, posting here and there… i figure i type pretty quickly and enjoy rambling about BS on a regular basis… why not capture it for the world to see? (hi, mom!).

there are a lot of changes happening in my life right now. some good, some bad. but, change is usually good, methinks. i’m newly single (well, sort of… he’s still living at my house until he finds a place of his own). it’s tough. we are best friends, and now that is dissolving. it’s depressing on one hand, but thrilling on the other hand. i don’t like starting over, but, i am a Scorpio… and the Scorpion secondary image is the Phoenix.. rising up from the ashes. renewal, rebirth. 2 of my finest traits. i seem to get into situations where things seem dire, destitute. but i always come thru it, clean and fresh, brand new… with lessons learned and values clearer. so i think while things are currently fudged, things will work out and i’ll come out a better person in the long run. i’ve learned so much the past decade and it’s now starting to fall in place. who i am, what i want. unfortunately my recent ex-relationship wasn’t giving me the things i want or need… and trust was broken and never restored. hopefully we can remain friends down the road, but for now, it’s tough.

alright, that’s all my taxed monday morning brain can muster so i’m out. enjoy your week, plebes.