And finally some good news! And then more good news!

So Boyfriend finally got a job offer. It's a 3 month contract to hire doing programming at a place that does police department database integration. It's a good hourly rate and they seem sane. And, he can start Monday, which is awesome. We were really worried about what was going to happen with unemployment - it certainly won't extend forever and since his last job only lasted 19 weeks he didn't get to start over on the unemployment clock for the year. He's been on so many interviews the last couple weeks that I was really hoping at least one would turn out. He got the offer two days ago and got all his paperwork done. Well, it seems good luck travels in packs, because today he got a call on a different job offering him a different 3 month contract to hire gig. Sheesh.

Now that our financial life is going to be looking up, I'm thinking again about buying a new car. Well, not new new, of course, but "new to me" as my family says. I saw a good car on Craigslist at a local dealer a few weeks ago and it got the wheels turning. Part of the problem there is that my car is truly a piece of junk on the outside. It's reliable on the inside, and I took good care of it, but this was my first car and I.. well, I hit a bunch of stuff. I hit ATM poles twice, I hit the garage, I hit a parked bus (it's a long story and left some ugly damage) and the car already looked bad when I got it. Boyfriend doesn't think I can get $1000 for it and he might be right. I was hoping to sell it to some 16 year old who's also just going to hit it on stuff, but we'll have to see. Since we've been pretty lucky recently (no major car problems, none of the animals needed surgery, no house emergencies) I actually have a couple thousand saved up. After all we've been through though I am incredibly antsy about spending the cash, though. The car I found is a hatchback 2004 Aveo for $5400 at a nearby dealership, and I could probably put a good chunk down and trade in my car, but I am unlikely to get a stellar financing deal. I had intended to run this car into the ground, but now that that point is getting close, I envision "running into the ground" translating into "stranded in the middle of the road in rush hour traffic when the transmission inevitably seizes."

I'm kind of hoping it rains tonight - among other things, I've been working for the Census as a door to door person, and if it rains I don't have to go out. :) But I only have eight addresses to hit, and we're leaving Thursday for a friend's wedding so I'll miss a few days of work, so I should probably go. I'm pretty glad I have the census gig even if the work is less than exciting, since it pays really well ($15/hr! seriously!) and is self scheduled. I know I'll be happy in two weeks to have the money from the couple hours I'll get tonight, but it's not much of a motivator right now.