Another Market Day

Another day another dollar....

Reasonably successful day (measured by the fact I can pay the mortgage tomorrow - yay).  And apparently other stall holders said that it was a quiet day.  Will have to get some stuff together for next week which should be better I'd think being Government payday. 

Will be sitting eagerly by the phone tomorrow morning waiting for a temp call. Hows that for positve thinking?  Will it to happen.

Oregon 2010

More online revenue ideas..

Okay so I have spent a bit of time today online registering with a couple of websites that I hope will bring me some location independent income.

Elance

Rent-A-Friend

With Rent A Friend I am the only female for my area (I am only accepting female only contact) so hoping that I have some luck here.

Dentist Run to Bali - August 2012

While I wasn't working is seemed like the perfect time to do a Dentist Run To Bali.  We'd been talking about it for ages and after receiving quotes from our local dentistsin Australia (my required treatment worth almost $2000 and BF about $6000AUD)

Anyhoo - we found flights for $500 return each on Jetstar which is actually a very expensive fare - you can get them as low as $140 return when they are on sale.  But we we booking pretty much last minute - only a few weeks in advance.  Using Lateroom we booked the first few nights for $54 a night - reduced (apparently) from $165 a night. And the other 6 nights we were 'booked' to stay at a mates villa for only $50 a night for the two of us. 

Quest Central Park Kuta - $54 a night per room

We initially rocked up at the Kuta 911 Dental Clinic but as they were booked out for a few days we decided to jump in a taxi (we only ever use Bluebird taxi's as they use their meter every time!) and head straight to the Denpasar Clinic.  Taxi cost would have only been about $8 AUD from memory.  We were ushered pretty much straight in and after explaining what we wanted - I needed a crown and clean and BF 2 crowns and root canal - they got down to business - ground my tooth back, made a temp and mould for new tooth - charged me $410 and booked me in to finalise the treatment for a few days later.

3 days later we headed back to the dentist - by now we had moved to the villa in Jimbaran Bay area so we organised a driver for $5 an hour who took us for our appointments,  waited for us and took us via the local supermarket on the way back. And we lashed out and bought Thai fusion take-away since we had to wait about 5 or 6 hours for both of our treatments.  My treatment was to remove temp crown - grind tooth a bit more - fit new crown -send it off for an hour (luckily just next door) to glaze it and then wack it in.  BF's 2nd one got buggered up by an overzealous dentist on his grinding foot-pedal so he was booked in to return 2 days later to finish his treatment. All in all I was very happy with my dental treatment - they offer a 5 year guarantee on the crowns. And even if we had to go back twice for repairs we would still be in front financially even after paying for a holiday at the same time.

Friends Villa in Jimbaran Bay area - quiet and tucked away - $50 a night or 2 of us

In between the dentist trips - we did only the minimum of exploring around Kuta (involved stepping out the doorway of the hotel and walking in any ol' direction) and even less in Jimbaran Bay until our friend joined us for the last 2 nights.

The Homefront Update & Getting Organised

Well after all my raving on about how much I love to travel, I also love the fact that I have a 'base' to come back to.  But more than just a base I guess - an actual home.  My parents house (that I have recently inherited a 50% of) was my base for a while but never really felt like home after I'd been gone so long and mum went sick redecorating and reclaiming our bedrooms.

 

 

Now I am lucky enough to have a 'home'. And I have lived here with BF for 8 years I guess. After all my years of travelling solo I also now have a wonderful travelling companion. I may not be such a wonderful travelling companion for him of course - I snore, always worry about what I can shove in my belly next and am quick to emotions - just to name a few of my 'issues'...ha ha...

Organisation skills (on the homefront at least) - are completely lacking in me for some reason.  Housework is not a priority on my list - apart from the fact I do like a clean bathroom and we are tidy in the kitchen (more BF than me I must admit).  I have trouble with 'Finishing The Job'.  Today being a classic example - I am surrounded by fabric and half finished projects from the last 3 days, that need to be mostly finished by tomorrow morning to have a stall at the markets.

Over the last 2 years I have been reading and researching organisation skills - yes- it is possible to learn this and it is possible to be lacking in this too.  Because I am prone to distraction easily I can quite easily 'forget' about sweeping the floor or hanging out laundry.  Or at least not prioritise it as I should.

Last night after much 'research' on the net, I started to put together a 'Household Folder'. This is to include such things as Cleaning Schedules, maintenance schedules, Daily clean list, weekly clean list, recipes, budgets, bills, instruction manuals etc etc.  Most of this I already have half organised due to my attempts previously and so once I finish this rambling I will work on that for another half hour before tackling my daily chores.

De-cluttering is the other most important duty as well as being organised.  Usually if there is crap laying around everywhere, it is one of two things - the item doesn't have a proper home or there is simply too much crap.  I am going to have another purge today (which will also give me more to sell at my markets tomorrow).

So my plan is that by de-cluttering the physical space around me, it may also help to de-clutter and calm my mind into actually being able to get my act together.  And if not, at least I will have a super clean house and would have got some exercise.

Online revenue...is it possible??

A few months ago I signed up to ews (sort of like an online shop linked to Amazon) - originally my wesite was aimed at the cruise industry.  Today I have updated it to be called Travel Gear Pro and linked it to the products I have been researching myself lately and that I hope to own one day. (Update 26th Jan '13 - I have since discontinued using this site mainly due to the cost - $30 a month for no sales and am focusing on updating a website I already have prepaid for - more on that later too once up and running) Therefore I can also provide accurate reviews of the products from personal use.  And this still would apply to the cruise industry.

Imagine if someone were to sponsor me to use and review their products.  Sort of like the No Bag Challenge offered by Scottevest.  I already have a travel vest from Scottevest though my item is now not in stock any more - mine being a lighter version of the this featured vest.  Actually the No Bag Challenge has been on my mind the last couple of days as I have reading blogs from people who have completed the challenge already.  So a thought to tuck away for future use.

Me 'travelling lite' with a day pack and large messenger bag - 2011

 

I guess now that I have my 'shop' set up, I need to promote it somehow.  While popping it on my blog seems the obvious choice, I doubt very much to be able to survive on any income I may derive from my current traffic of 2 readers (hello). 

So on with learning about HTML and widgets and stuff.

Passion...

Travel Gear Pro - my site I set up the day after this post.

You know- after I finished my post yesterday - I realised what my funk is all or at least partly about. 

I just don't want to work for anybody else!!  I've been self-employed for 8 years and believe me, I just cannot feel passionate about going to work for someone else!!

Just by analyzing the passed weeks worth of web surfing and activities - I can tell you that my passions are

TRAVEL

TRAVEL

TRAVEL

CRAFT

And yesterday after this revelation, I decided to spend all day (see when you are passionate about something it is not a chore) sewing and making travel accessories to sell at the markets!! 

You may remember me mentioning in a previous post (if there is anyone reading my blog - hello hello?) that I have trouble actually finishing...  well... anything.  By late afternoon yesterday I had a pile of unfinished products.  My main reasoning at the time was that I needed to purchase extra materials. So I made myself think outside the square slightly and just made do with what I had! I ended up with 4 finished products - a mini travel pillowcase (stuff with clothes at night for cushioning and doubles as a stuff bag for dirty laundry or whatever),a smaller bag with zip, mobile phone cover and another wee storage bag. 

etsy.com was a great source of inspiration and I will endeavour to set myself up on etsy.com too.

With all my "research" on the web during the week it was no surprise I ended up actually purchasing something - a new High Sierra AT605 backpack.  BF is working away for a week so I am hoping it turns up while he is away - not sure how to break it to him I 'needed' a new bag.  Oh - and I also found on ebay some convertible quick dry pants that zip off to 3 different lengths!!

The reason for all my "research" lately is the forthcoming trip for 4 months overseas next year.  My best friend will be joining me for part of it and I am hoping with all my nagging that my BF will come and join me at the end too. 

While its still fresh in my memory I will start a new page on my blog about the proposed trip.

New Orleans - 2010

Feeling funky...and not in the good way

Aaaaaagh....

I cannot seem to climb out of this deep unmotivated rut I am in.  (Not sure if there is such a thing as an unmotivated rut but there you have it)

I literally have only enough money to pay the mortgage this week and then I'm out of cash.  But the thing is - I cannot seem to get motivated enough to actually want to work - well not for someone else anyway.  Although I did do over 5 hours on the gate of the local rodeo and earnt myself $100 on the weekend. Previously being broke has been the biggest motivator I need to get my act together but not this time.

The employment agency has now registered me (I know this because I missed a call from them Monday morning about work - rats!!) so I shower and get dressed early and sit by the phone by 9am the last few days.  And then if there is no phonecall I sit at my notebook all day just researching...well...stuff!  Mainly researching travel to be honest. BF often comments that if I put that much commitment into looking for work I'd be earning by now.  Can't deny that.

So a couple of the sites that I have found and have been "researching" are

Wise Bread

The Professional Hobo

Excellent resources on frugal living, travel, independent living and everything in between.