It’s been a rough summer for the budget, and just got a lot rougher. I did get word on that bartending job and did the onboarding process on Saturday morning. Turned in my 2-weeks notice to my other job a few hours later, and boy did I find some things out.

They were worried about when my last official day would be because I was just like “okay, it ends in 2 weeks or if you want me gone sooner” because I knew the orientation was coming (It’s today and I’m trying to get some semblance of calm going… and failing). I figured I could give the courtesy of a 2-weeks notice because they already had the schedule out. And why did they have it that far out? Because most of the management is going on vacation that weekend and I’m closing the three late nights in a row.

And as usual, I’m one of the last ones to know anything… so I wonder who the hell is working the mornings instead those days.

So yeah, I had to talk to some folks about payments that are due and long story short, I gotta increase the payments starting in a week.

Again, really crappy timing.

And this led me to a conclusion I’m just gonna have to accept: that my desire to go full on vegetarian and vegan is gonna have to be put on hold. I’m already on a shoestring grocery budget as it is; cutting out entire aisles of the grocery store when I am uncertain as to what my new job’s hours and take-home pay will be like is gonna be scary as hell.

Thankfully I won’t have to buy anything for a while, but definitely can’t do the fresh produce thing for some time. I’ve still got about 15 lbs of dried beans and 10 lbs of rice in the cabinets, so I can make some cheap stuff. But anything even dairy related is gonna have to be on the back burner, including nut milks (though many times I can find ’em relatively cheap compared to regular milk these days).

While I’d rather get in the habit of eating fresh again, not-starving is more important. The biggest thing will involve trying to sell stuff I have around the house in a garage sale or something else… that’s gonna be the tough part.

I’ve never really sold stuff before. I usually just gave it away because I was so nervous about asking for money. Well, I’m gonna have to learn how to get over it because unless I get REALLY good at this bartending job in record time and get REALLY good tips, I’ll have to be a selling fool for a while. I don’t want to hit a pawn shop for most of what I’ve got because they’d probably not want it or give me rock bottom for it.

A garage sale intimidates the hell out of me, and I’d have to figure out a good time to do it. I’d need to clean up my yard big time and know where to set everything so it could be viewed and protected from the elements. My mower has a flat and is taking up space under the carport, but that carport also needs some major cleanup because of the overgrown weeds and whatnot, even if it WAS clear.

At least I know a place I can sell some guitars, but that won’t net me very much at all. I’m not on Facebook because they don’t think my name is real, so FB Marketplace really isn’t an option. And I’m wary of other options out there (research needed)

I was hoping to focus on what my orientation will entail and get some online tips about training in. Now I’m having to pull out my spreadsheets and make a new budget to account for what is going on instead. Glad I did a few miles on my elliptical, but now I’m getting antsy and am close to wanting to go out there again.

The curveballs life likes to throw…sheesh. But when it comes to my diet and my budget, getting fed (and taking multivitamins to compensate for any deficiencies) while still exercising is just going to have to do. Hopefully I can get back on track with my nutrition goals in a few months when I have a better grasp on what it is I can do for my home and myself.

What a year this is turning out to be: I just wanted to get healthy and train for a marathon, and here I am having to absolutely change EVERYTHING in rapid fashion. There is so much to learn and so little time, but it has to be done. Time to crack the knuckles and get it on..