http://www.electric-monk.net/lise Living Less Large in Central MA Wed, 21 May 2008 14:35:53 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en This afternoon I'll be heading off to New Mexico for vacation. The event I'm ostensibly attending is FolkMADness at New Mexico Tech in Socorro, but I'll also be visiting a few other places, including Santa Fe. I have an article I plan to post before I leave, and I may ... http://www.electric-monk.net/lise/2008/05/21/albuquerque-bound/ I'm reading Peter Walsh's book It's All Too Much, which I just picked up from the library. Peter Walsh is the organization guru on TLC's Clean Sweep, of which I am (not so) secretly a huge fan. Peter's sort is my favorite part of the show. I habitually turn it ... http://www.electric-monk.net/lise/2008/05/14/what-alternate-clutterverse-am-i-living-in/ Our first step in solving the Subaru transmission dilemma was bringing it to a transmission specialist nearby. This, as it turned out, was the only step needed, as he confirmed what our mechanic had said (the problem was the rear differential) and told us it would cost approximately $1,800-$2,000 to ... http://www.electric-monk.net/lise/2008/05/09/and-the-subaru-lived-happily-ever-after/ I haven't offloaded any Links Relevant to Mah Interests lately, so here are a few for you: Moolanomy is sponsoring The Best Wedding Tips and Stories Giveaway. A little over three years ago Matt and I had a relatively frugal wedding at our favorite restaurant in Burlington, MA, so my own ... http://www.electric-monk.net/lise/2008/05/02/link-love-transmission-choo-choo-edition/ I stopped at Hannaford last night to pick up a few essentials for sandwiches. We went through the express lane, because we only had a few items (deli meat and cheese, wraps, cream cheese), and I was surprised to see my order ring up at $35. I briefly thought food ... http://www.electric-monk.net/lise/2008/05/01/it-pays-to-check-your-receipt-20-deli-meat-edition/ Some months I do more "wrap-up" posts than I do "normal" posts. Thankfully, this month was not one of them. April brought a few new readers (thank you!) and a theme (health and finance) that inspired... well, only two posts: Five Reasons to Skip the Gym Membership. This was a bit ... http://www.electric-monk.net/lise/2008/04/30/april-wrap-up/ Thanks to all the folks - here and on my LJ - who have given me advice on my Subaru and its transmission problems. It seems I have a few options: Have a new or rebuilt transmission installed. This costs ~$2,000, and most are guaranteed for 70,000 miles. However, there's also ... http://www.electric-monk.net/lise/2008/04/29/car-repair-or-replacement-action-plan/ For a bit now the Subaru has been making a high-pitched whine when accelerating. Bringing it to my mechanic to fix, he diagnosed a major transmission problem and gave the car three months to live. I have no idea how this happened. The mechanic suggested that transmissions shouldn't fail like that, ... http://www.electric-monk.net/lise/2008/04/28/everything-unexpected-and-unpleasant-in-my-financial-life-has-to-do-with-cars/ The techniques you'll read about on Problogger aren't what catch my eye when I read a blog . I see right through tricks like adding "sexy" to a post title. What I'm looking for is humanity. Passion. Direction. Something that tells me that there's another human being behind that byline, ... http://www.electric-monk.net/lise/2008/04/23/link-love-blogs-with-personality/ You can blame Retirement: A Full-Time Job for this meme sheepery. I guess I should have listened when some of you told me personal finance bloggers were bad influences on me ;) Four jobs I've had - My first job was shelving books at a used bookstore in my home town. The ... http://www.electric-monk.net/lise/2008/04/22/irrelevant-silliness/