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Thursday, January 19, 2017

The seven month contract (part 14)

By the time my contract ended in October 2012, I had saved up a total of $34000. I was a free man again and I had the time to look for an opportunity. By the end of October, the staffing agency had another contract waiting to be filled. It was for the position of accounts payable clerk in a successful fast food restaurant. The restaurant is best known for their chicken sandwiches. It was a short contract lasting only three months but I was ready to take a paycheck anywhere. I dressed up in a suit and drove close to thirty miles just to get to the job site. When I got there, they handed me an assessment to complete before the interview started. I had 30 minutes to complete it. Most of it was basic and familiar however I had a little bit of difficulty remembering how to do adjusting entries. I handed the assessment in and waited.

After five minutes, a lady came out to tell me I had failed the exam and we could not go further with the interview. Immediately, I got pissed off and wanted to choke someone. I just drove 30 miles and wasted at least 3 hours of my day to go to this interview. We shared an awkward silence while riding the elevator down to the lobby. She asked me one question and I answered it with one word while giving her a look filled with the blistering hatred of a serial killer. My love for that restaurant died that day and I got a burger to eat on the way home. Unfortunately, the recruiters never found another position that I could qualify for. They specialized in staffing people with IT skills and I really didn’t have knowledge of coding, programming, or SQL. It was rare that they would get a flood audit around my location. With that first interview done, I was on my own and out to look for work again.

I had one interview in November. The company offered financing to people who wanted to buy new cars. It wasn’t a position I was excited about but I went just to get in the swing of things again and get comfortable with interviews. I really didn’t have much to contribute to the conversation with the boss and really I was just waiting for the interview to be over. After a painful 30 minutes, I left the office without any real expectations.

During December, I noticed that there were more job positions available. On job databases, I regularly saw positions for staff accountant and cost accountant present. I made sure to apply for all of them. I had close to two years of work experience so I’d might have a better chance of actually getting an interview. The world didn’t come to an end on December 21 and I made it through Christmas and New Year.

July 2012
For the month of July, I spent a total of $690.67. I was over budget but I wasn’t that concerned with staying in budget. I was only going to be employed for a few more months anyway. My insurance premium was $203.40. I spent $175 on gas by filling up my tank 7 times. I spent $63.85 on fast food by eating out 12 times. I spent $62.10 by taking Julia out to eat twice. I spent $60.38 on clothing. I got my haircut this month for $20.

August 2012
For the month of August, I spent a total of $728.22. I was still over budget but I was still not really concerned. My insurance policy renewed this month. To my dismay, my premiums didn’t decrease but the increased slightly. I spent $208 on my insurance premium. I spent $235.57 on gas by filling up my tank 7 times. I spent $49.48 on fast food by eating out 5 times. I spent $40.32 by eating some meals with friends. I spent $33.89 on groceries for this month. I bought a pair of shoes for $37.09. I spent $18.98 on oil filters for my car.

September 2012
For the month of September, I spent a total of $1091.19. I was way over budget. This was due to health care expenses. I spent $45 on an eye exam and $232.39 on a new pair of glasses. I spent $158 on a physical exam because I was committed to buying health insurance. My insurance premium was $207.40. I spent $201.07 on gas by filling up my tank 6 times. I spent $53.90 on fast food by eating out 9 times. I spent $40.36 eating out at restaurants with some friends. I spent $36.10 on groceries. I also spent $19.99 on a phone card for my prepaid phone.

October 2012
For the month of October, I spent a total of $691.86. My employment ended again yet I was still over budget. My insurance premium was $207.40. I spent $180.86 on gas by filling up my tank 6 times. I spent $61.58 on fast food by eating out 13 times. I spent $24.65 on groceries. I spent $40.75 eating at restaurants with some friends. I spent $80.74 on a 400 minute bundle for my phone. The 400 minutes became 800 minutes with my prepaid phone as it had the double minutes for life feature. I spent $49.80 on ink cartridges for my printer.

November 2012
For the month of November, I spent a total of $555.49. My premium for car insurance was $207.40. I paid two months of premiums for my health insurance which came out to be $104.10. I spent $42.74 on gas by filling up my tank twice. I was not driving very much this month. I spent $33.15 on fast food by eating out 8 times. During this time period, I wanted to get fast food just for the sake of getting something. Each purchase was relatively small. I spent $67.56 on the taxes and tags for my car. Related to my car, I also spent $15 on emissions. I bought a pair of knee pads for $23.29. I spent $10 on groceries. I only went out to eat with friends once this month and spent $11.96.

December 2012
For the month of December, I spent a total of $548.92. My premium for car insurance was $207.40. I spent $86.54 on gas by filling up my tank 3 times. I spent $20.19 on fast food by eating out 6 times. I bought a new skateboard deck for $59.26. I spent $26.01 at restaurants by eating out with friends.

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