Future Proof Your Life: Updating and Storing Passwords

Call it the Year of Morbidity, but 2011-2012 has been the most productive so far in setting up accounts and wills and getting insurances in case something should happen to me. I've also tried to future-proof my finances in case something happens to my family members. So far I've:

1. --Drafted my will
2. --set up a living revocable trust
3. --assigned my executor 
4. --assigned my Power of Attorney
5. --assigned my Power of Durable Health
6. --made a Master List of passwords
7. --drafted a letter to my loved ones in case I pass, with some instructions, friends to contact (with messages), and things I'd want them to know
8. --stored all of the above on a USB stick, stored in my Mom and Dad's fire and flood proof safe
9. --obtained contents insurance
10. --obtained life insurance
11. --tried to fill my trust with bank accounts and the like (so far none of them are playing nice--ZERO of my banks will allow me to change my account beneficiary to my trust or change the name of my account to my trust...working on this is like a full time job!!)

Still to do:

1. --buy disability insurance (eligible to apply on June 1)
2. --talk to my parents about their long-term care insurance
3. --set up a reasonable way to update my passwords, stored with my Mom (my beneficiary)

Currently, scans of the main documents, the Master List of my passwords, and the instructions on what to do if I pass are safely stored on a USB stick in my mom and dad's fire and flood proof safe in the US. But I sometimes change my passwords around, add new accounts, etc. (Another benefit is that I use the master list to keep track of my passwords, so I no longer have to remember which password goes to which username for which credit card. It's handy to have it in Excel format (triple passworded on my laptop in case it gets stolen).) How best to give my parents these new passwords without allowing them to have access to them right now or sending them by an insecure method? I don't want to ask them to take the USB out of the safe every single time that I change something around--I know my family, and it just won't get updated, it might get lost, or it will not get put back in the safe, and then what is the point?! Plus I don't want them reading that letter before I die...

So I've been looking around. People have many suggestions for this dilemma. And so do PF bloggers. Several people mention Lifehacker's list of to-do's.

My idea was to put my Master List on Google Docs. But is it secure? According to Google, it is. I'm still a little worried though--my Yahoo! email account has been hacked a few times before and I am sure it happens to gmail users, too. One of those links up there discusses the pitfalls of Cloud storage. Plus, what if I don't have internet access and need to look up one of my credit card numbers (say, if my wallet was stolen)? It's an extreme case, for sure, but that exactly when I'd need this Master List...in extreme situations. 

I think the best solution (for me) would be to encrypt the documents that I change often and upload them to Google docs (or GDrive, whatever it is called these days) and give my parents the password to it. Everything else, they can have encrypted copies on the USB. I'll do all of this when I have more time in September when I visit home. 

What do you do? Do you see any flaws with my plan?

How Eating at McDonald's Made Me a Better Employee

No, I have never worked at McDonald's. My early employment history included selling sunglasses at a mall booth, endlessly stocking and straightening racks of shoes (I can't walk past disheveled shoe boxes without fixing them to this day), and counting and weighing leaves of grass (for 'research') to support myself and my insatiable popcorn habit in college.

But a few weeks ago, I had my Cityhop car, doing errands, and was absolutely starving. I had forgotten to pack some snacks for the road. The Golden Arches beckoned...and I became a better employee from the experience.

Usually when I pull up to the drive-thru, I get a bored sounding teenager or young adult who would obviously rather be somewhere else. (Can you blame them?) This time, I got a perky, happy, efficient, and very polite teenager. I usually order something a little specific and odd, being as allergic to some of their menu items as I am, so I always have to tweak the order. Yep, I'm that customer. My order always always ALWAYS confuses the clerk in NZ (in the US it must be more common as I don't usually have any problems), and they ask me twelve times what I mean by my order. This kid? He was on top of it. One uber-polite question was all he needed. When I got up to the window, it was all smiles and more politeness and prompt and eager service. As I pulled through and away I thought, "He doesn't belong here. He is going to move up and away, and fast." Obviously no one dreams of working at McDonald's when they grow up (do they?), but instead of merely serving out his tenure, boredly, until his education and experience caught up with his aspirations, he was giving it his all. That teenager inspired me.

There was something about the interaction that just impressed the heck out of me. And wouldn't it be nice if people thought that about my work? Sure, I work in an entirely different job and do entirely different set of tasks, but I would like for my colleagues to think that about me--that I am clearly destined to do something more and bigger and better. I don't know that they do, not right now. I do the tasks that I am assigned, a few that aren't, and I do a very good job at them, most of the time. But am I aiming high enough to get that reaction? If my lay off has taught me anything, it is that the answer to that, for some people, was a 'NO', only very recently. There has to have been a reason why I was chosen to lay off over much newer, much less experienced staff.

Even though my current boss has worked with me for 4 years now and did everything she could to keep me on, I feel like I have to squash any doubts that may have come up due to the lay off. I need to impress her and my other bosses just like that kid at McDonald's (for now) impressed me.

Going Wild

A raise, a windfall, and no current financial goals all in the same month makes for some very unfettered spending. May isn't even over yet and I've already spent more than my previous monthly salary!! It is insanity around here. 

I need to decide on some new goals before the extra spending becomes a habit. It's been nice to not have to worry about it this month, though, and spend on the items that I seem to want to gravitate to right now. I don't often allow myself to do that, but once in a while it is nice to opt for the 'expensive floss' rather than the cheapo kind that hurts to use. It is good especially since I am quite stressed out since starting the new job. As many have noticed, increased stress levels = increased spending for a lot of us. 

I haven't yet been as productive as I feel that I need to be to prove that I'm worth the new contract, what with moving offices (I had to move everything by myself), transferring computer files from my old to my new computer (again by myself), finishing up old projects (not getting paid for that any more so it's on my own time), starting three new projects at my new job and learning everything that comes with them, performing several new outreach activities (lots of work, big reward, but it doesn't put a dent in my job task list at all), and keeping up with my old responsibilities that transferred over from my last job. I've worked the past three weekends and I'm going slowly insane. 

This weekend I am taking a break from the work (at least one day) and hope to tackle some of the items on my 2012 non-financial goal list. I want to make a few new financial goals that will help accomplish those. For example, save up to join a gym (yikes! I hate membership fees and contracts!!). That would help me reach my goal of working out an hour a day and maybe the personal trainer one.

How To Make a Stranger Like You

I'm not one for brevity, but if I can offer one word of advice about making someone else happy, it's this: Listen.


I've been rushing around at work, pulling near-all nighters and still feel incredibly far behind. I sometimes literally run from one building to the next (I currently have three offices) in order to make my meetings and deadlines on time. One of my tasks on my to-do lists today was to get access to land for some fieldwork we're trying to do for one of my colleague's projects. This involved calling a farmer who had cattle on the land, and on top of that we needed him to turn off the electric fences on his property so we could properly collect our data.

This kind of task comes up often, and normally it is a very easy phone call: they either say yes or no right away. Sometimes you can communicate over email and it's even easier.

Today was not one of those days. The farmer in question was 90 years old, doesn't have voicemail, and is hard of hearing. After calling all day, I finally got him on the phone. Once I'd repeated my request about 5 times, he started spouting off that he had granted other groups access to his land in the past, and they have upset him and caused him trouble. He clearly stated that he 'hated' people in my profession because of these past encounters. I thought for sure he was saying no, but my gut told me to wait him out. Let him say what he needs to say. Listen, and take him and his concerns seriously.


After a half hour of listening to his stories and assuring him that we would not make the same mistakes, and that I would ensure that my group did everything that he told us to do, he granted us permission. Not only that, but he willingly told me how to turn off the electric fencing.

Even though I am really busy these days, I am glad that I took the time out and didn't rush forward and pressure him to make a decision right away in order to check another task off of my list. Sometimes the situation calls for slowing down and clearly hearing someone when they need to share something with you. I'd say that most of the time, being heard is the only thing that we really need or want from anyone else.

Is It Worth The Hype?

There is a specific breed of humans that loves to travel. From an early age, we that count ourselves amongst that bunch to hear about exotic places, animals, and activities, and vow to ourselves that if we could just get there, our lives would be complete. We make travel bucket lists and read books about the numerous wonderful places that we must experience before we die.

And sometimes we actually get to do some of those things. I've been lucky enough to have enough money and time off to explore some pretty amazing places: Thailand, Hawaii, Australia, NZ, California, Utah. There have been, however, a few things on my list that just haven't lived up to the hype or haven't been worth the paper the money I spent was printed on.

Not Worth It (not in any order):

1) Snorkel the Great Barrier Reef. 

Um...I'm underwhelmed. (Actual photo from my trip.)

Ok, people, I hate to break so many hearts at once, but I've done this twice, using different companies and snorkeling in different areas, so I consider myself somewhat knowledgeable about this one. One time was far off the coast on the outer edge of the Reef, and the other was off of an island close to the inner edge of the Reef. Was it thrilling to be living out a dream? Yes. Was the actual experience amazing? ...well, no, not for what it was built up to be. Where were the humongous colorful schools of fish and gigantic coral? Instead of feeling awed by nature, I felt like a cow in a herd. In both cases, the number of people that visited the area must have destroyed the particular section of the Reef that we went to, and I felt less like a traveler fulfilling a dream than yet another duped customer. I found much prettier coral and fish when snorkeling in Hawaii, in a place that is overrun with tourists. Unless you are willing to pay extremely big bucks (> $300 AUD) to go to a virtually untouched section of the Reef and have a premium experience, or maybe if you are a diver, going to the Reef isn't worth it.

2) See the glowworms at Waitomo, NZ. 

Another one that I've done several times. If you are going to do this, I strongly suggest you pair it with an adventure activity, like the black water rafting or abseiling tours. Seeing a bunch of pinpricks of light that you can see for free in many other caves in NZ? Nah, definitely not worth it.

3) NZ hangi and Maori Cultural Show at Te Puia.

This one is probably more of a preference/opinion than a worth/not worth it. But I think there are many other less expensive ways to experience the Maori culture than to pay $145 to see a geyser, some flax-weaving, get a crappy buffet meal, and a simple show of Maori dancing. Plus I am bitter about their cancellation policy--zero refunds ever, even when my sister was sick and couldn't make it to NZ to see the show. For geothermal, Wai-O-Tapu or Orakei Korako are much, much better. And the Maori stuff you can easily get in a museum, complete with a dance show. Crappy buffets are everywhere.

Worth It (not in any order):

1) Hobbiton. 

I went there recently and was pleasantly surprised. Everyone had been telling me it wasn't worth it and was lame. But one of my favorite kids in the world asked me to go there and take pictures for him for his 10th birthday, so I did. It was awesome! Maybe I got a particularly great tour guide and a really great tour group, but it was really fun and very cool to see the scenes from the movie in real life. I've seen the Lord of the Rings, of course, and even read the books, but I'm not a huge fan or anything. It was more about seeing a fantasy place come to life and having great company while doing so, for me. $66 NZD for a two-hour tour is steep, but you only have to do it once, and the photo ops you get are worth every penny...(plus you get to stand where (drool) Legolas once stood).

2) 

I'll keep adding to this list as I go or as I think of places that have been worth it/not worth it. Please share your own!

Pushing Yourself With Passion

Today I led 120 6th-8th graders on an all-day field trip and gave a bunch of presentations to them to teach them about my chosen profession. I also showed them various cool things in their own backyard and how to be safer in certain situations. Next week I give a presentation for an hour to 150 3rd graders. Also on my list this year are numerous public speaking engagements, field trips, and media (TV/news/radio) interviews. This is all for my job, and 90% of it is voluntary. And all of it scares me $hitless.

I was a little wary earlier this week about the presentation today, and, I guess, always will be a little nervous, no matter how much practice I get. Point blank, public speaking and being the center of attention runs contrary to nearly every personality trait I have: I'm shy, quiet, a bookworm, a behind-the-scenes person. I like to run quietly in the background, like the operating system on your laptop. I'm not a flashy program or a fun game--but I keep things going smoothly. Give me a choice between organizing a week-long conference and leading a day-long seminar, and I will choose the conference, which is a VAST amount of more work, every time. It may be boring, but I'm reliable, safe, and happy in that role. While I sometimes enjoy a tiny bit of the speaking part if it is going well, the misery leading up to it is never, ever pleasant. For about a week before I have to give a talk, I'm all nerves whenever I let myself think about it. So why do I put myself through and volunteer for all of these public speaking engagements if I get so nervous and dread it so horribly beforehand? Why do I love my job so much if these awful things are sometimes required? I've suspected the answer to that question, but it was made clearer recently:

I am reading Susan Cain's book entitled Quiet right now, and in it she lays out all of the reasons that being introverted is a plus, NOT a disability, in modern society, despite popular belief. One part of the book talks about how introverted people can act extremely extroverted sometimes, such as teaching a very popular class or hosting a television show, and no one would have ever guessed that the act exhausted them--they acted like extroverts. So why did they do it and how did they pull it off? In most of these instances, the introverts are temporarily motivated by some passion to convey the message that they need to get out into the world. They believe in that message, and they believe in themselves. Because they are introverted and think things through from many angles, they know they've done their homework. They know that they are stable, reliable, and accountable, and feel like it is their duty to do these things that they don't exactly enjoy. That makes public speaking sound like a chore, but it is very fulfilling even though the feelings sometimes aren't pleasant. While introverts usually dread public speaking and need vast amounts of quiet time to re-energize before and after, they also know that they have to do it for the good of their cause. And that is what drives them...and me. I feel obligated to educate people about my work. I think it is important. I believe it might save their lives.

Science is many things, but it isn't--and shouldn't be--shy, running contrary to the stereotype of the nerdy scientist. Sure, you can hide away in labs for days at a time, run off to far away places to conduct fieldwork, and hole up in your office crunching data and writing journal articles, and still make a difference. But I think that the whole point of scientific research is to make people's lives better, safer, or to give them more information to make choices so that their lives can be better or safer--and this message can't be communicated to the public through a jargon-filled, hidden-away journal article. I owe it to my research and to the public to act as a messenger to reach as many people as possible. This can be applied to many, if not all, fields. What is the point of spending 40+ hours a week at work if doesn't have some positive impact on society? For me, the pursuit of knowledge is a huge factor, but what really drives me is that I am helping people. Bottom line, I find my job emotionally satisfying and fun because it ultimately makes people safer. For others, maybe it is something different that fulfills you in your job, but Susan's explanation just feels very right to me. That is why I force myself through the nerves. My passion for my message, my work, fuels my courage and pulls the extrovert out of me when called for. No matter my brief freak-outs beforehand, my core self needs to speak up to feel satisfied with how I am living my life.

So whenever I am nervously thinking about the speaking gig I have the next day and wishing I would get horribly sick or suffer some other justifiable injury to get out of it, I remember: this is the whole point of my work. Without that, I shouldn't even be in my field. And that passion always pulls me through.

2012 Financial Goal Check In

Even though I thought I set very lofty goals for 2012, I've nearly completed all of them. Only a few goals still remain, and none of them require spending or saving--more research and tidying up finances.

The entire list is below, but the remaining goals to concentrate on are summarized here:

--Turn in my disability insurance paperwork. I have to wait 1 month in my new job before I can apply. And great news, with my recent raise, I qualify for a salary of $30K ($23K USD) a year if disabled!

SEPTEMBER: Have yet another chat with my Mom about long-term care insurance and subsidizing her purchase of a policy. This will be done in September when I go home. *Reminder made in my calendar*  Mom refuses to let me pay for it, and can't afford to pay for it herself.

SEPTEMBER: Make a list of all of my accounts, and start putting them in the name of my Trust instead of my own name, to make my estate easier to deal with upon my passing. I also need to update my Mom's files to the most up to date password info, etc.
BoA: in POD
HSBC: only allows me to assign a beneficiary.


Kiwibank: in NZ, all money has to go through probate
Kiwisaver: in NZ, has to go 'to the estate'
Rabo: in NZ, all money has to go through probate
Superlife life insurance: beneficiary is Revocable Trust (but I don't know if this is legal, trying to get them to put a secondary beneficiary of my mom)
T Rowe Price: done
Vanguard: done

JULY & OCTOBER: Cancel two of my credit cards that are due for annual fees, before July and October, respectively. *Reminders made in my calendar* July cc downgraded to no fee card.

JULY & AUGUST: Review asset allocations, balance portfolio, get professional assessment?


JULY - SEPTEMBER: Update passwords file, encrypt file, put on Google docs. Inform Mom of password in case. Do same to back up budget excel file online.

          -Transfer all accounts to my Living Revocable Trust. 

          -Store copies of documents with my mom. USE GOOGLE DOCS + ENCRYPTION, see post from 30 May.
See: https://www.thecolemanlawfirm.net/Funding_a_Living_Trust.html 

I think I will start setting up weekly and monthly goals, just like I do at work. I will put most of my emphasis for the remainder of the year on my non-financial goals. For some reason I can only concentrate on one thing at a time!

___________Original 2012 Goals List______________

Goal 1: Establish taxable investment account at Vanguard. Save $4K. Buy FTSE All World ex US Index Fund.
     Feb 2012: Completed.

Goal 2: Invest in a stock via sharebuilder.com.
   (I've decided this goal doesn't make sense. The amount of paperwork I'd have to do for taxes from overseas if I want to regularly trade stocks is RIDICULOUS. I did get the sharebuilder $50 bonus, though, so basically I received $50 USD for free just for opening an account...).

Goal 3:  Buy a life insurance policy (with total permanent disability and death benefit) for $350K, $200K D&PD at a reputable insurance firm.
     $184/year. May 2012: DONE.
      

Goal 4:  Buy an affordable disability insurance policy that covers my specific job and replaces most of my income from a reputable insurance firm.
     -Superlife: 55% of salary covered (~$30K pa) until I'm 65, 6 month waiting period, $193 per year, with a $30 annual 'insurance' fee. Form complete. Have to wait 1 month in new job before I can turn it in.

Goal 5: Talk to Mom and Dad about long-term care insurance. Again.
     Steps to finish:
           -Set a date with Mom to chat.
           -Have her review her options again.
           -Research options.
           -Buy policy to at least cover my mom (Dad is most certainly not eligible).

This will be done in September when I visit home.

Goal 6: Buy an affordable contents insurance package here in NZ.
     $461.16/year. May 2012: DONE.

Goal 7: Finalize Will and Trust documents.  

     Steps to finish: 

          -Transfer all accounts to my Living Revocable Trust. 

          -Store copies of documents with my mom.

Goal 8: Continue to play the credit card game, amass enough air points to travel home for free in 2013. 

          May 2012: Done. Extra step:

          -Cancel cards that will charge an annual fee:  May July October.


Additional goals for 2012:

-Revise budget based on 2011 spending. 

        March 2012 update: DONE.

-Set no limit on medical, health, and exercise spending.

-Save $7,500 to various goals:

Goal 9:  Increase long term savings to $500/mo from $415/mo, equaling $6K total ($300/mo to Roth; $100 to House DP; $100 to Europe trip). 

      January 2012: DONE.

Goal 10:  Save $1,500 to my Wants list

      March 2012: DONE.

Stretch goals:
Goal 11: Save $3K for 2013 US trip (if I use up 2012 trip fund). 

     April 2012: DONE.

Goal 12: Save $4K for a car.  Canceled in Feb 2012 due to CityHop reg. $3.2K will cover access to a car one day a month and annual membership for 3 years. It is a better deal to put this cost into my budget each month rather than paying for a car outright, plus parking, WOF, maintenance, and insurance fees on top of that.

On-going goals:

-Spend less than I earn.

-Continue to put 2% of my salary towards Kiwisaver (with 2% salary match).

-Diligently track every penny.

Scratch That

Oof, I am a total luddite. So I have played around with my new smartphone for about a week and I just. don't. get. it.

Granted, I haven't taken it out of my house, because I was afraid I'd scratch it or something and not be able to return it, but playing around with it, it's just a lot of work!

My fingers are too big to work the touchscreen, I get a cramp in my thumb when I text, and I have to use both of my hands to hold it to do anything. Also, the battery runs out with like 4 hours of use and GPS costs an arm and a leg. I can't figure out how to load any apps onto it--the phone just comes up with an error every time I try to load a .CAB file. I've followed all the instructions I can find and also Windows won't let me do anything with it because it is version 6.1 instead of the new 7.5. They don't work with anything that isn't new. WTF?!

My current, very crappy cell phone lasts about a week without recharging, even with constant use. I can text with one hand easily. It doesn't take a thousand button or finger touches to set the alarm. I add $10 to my account every month to recharge my pre-pay 5000 texts Add-On, and that is all that it costs all month. It has its faults, but the devil I know...

Perhaps I just got the wrong kind of smartphone for my personality, but it was voted as one of the best, and lots of people are still using this smartphone, even though it came out in 2009. It is just that good.

But not for me! I guess I'm sticking with my basic cell phone and trying out a different smartphone at some other time. Unfortunately, getting a smartphone just means adding another layer of complication to my life, another gadget that doesn't quite work the way I need it to, one more thing that breaks that I don't know how to fix. Electronics and new technology, however wonderful and easier they make your life, they can also be a pain in the butt and make your life that much more difficult. The last thing I need, with a very stressful job transition and a raging case of itch mites, is one more thing to frustrate me.

New Phone!

I am super excited to finally receive a new phone. I loved my US phone that I bought in 2007. Back then people were only starting to get into smartphones and the iPhone was the newest phenomenon. Nowadays you are a dinosaur if you don't have one...so I guess that makes me one! I bought a $30 US phone when I first came to NZ (my US phone didn't accept SIM cards). That stopped working about a year later, and my XBF gave me his old phone to use, so I used that until the battery port stopped charging. I then bought a $50 US phone off of ebay and I've been using that ever since (for about 2 years now). However, it is being really wonky and sending me text messages over and over and blocking me from sending texts randomly. It also doesn't save my missed or received or made calls anymore.

And it's just time for an upgrade! My life is a lot busier now with the new job, and I want something I can consult on the go about my schedule, emails, to-do lists, shopping list, etc. I doubt I'll use it for internet browsing--I'm really cheap--but I wanted one with a GPS built-in so I'm excited about never getting lost again.

I've never had a smartphone, so I went for a very old version of one that had good reviews online. It is a 2008 Windows phone and cost me about $100 USD. Back in the day it was on par with the iPhone (not sure which version, though). It's touchscreen, with Mobile Office and all sorts of options I don't understand yet. It's way more than I have ever had. I'll need a long while to learn how to use this phone efficiently...

Now, those of you that are much more tech-savvy, how/where do I download some apps for this Windows 6.1 badboy?! And which apps are the best?! I need to get caught up with the 'Naughts this weekend.

Well, THIS is embarrassing...

Sigh. So my roommate has 'itch mites.' That's what she said the doctor said to her after she had suffered with huge red welts on her arms and hands for about a week, what she thought was an allergic reaction to something. She said it shouldn't be a big deal, it probably wasn't going to affect me, esp. since we are basically ships in the night and clean religiously.

OH, but the doctor was wrong. Last Saturday, the biting began. I was attending my friend's birthday night out and started ITCHING LIKE CRAZY. I went to look at my arm in the bathroom mirror, and to my horror: red bumps everywhere! It was awful. I was caught in a horrible place: 1) It was my best friend's birthday...how am I to abandon her on her special night out?! I was one of about three people, so it's not like it wouldn't go unnoticed and 2) I can't stay in a sweaty, crowded club knowing that I'm giving people (esp. my best friends) the gift that keeps on giving. Also, I was totally embarrassed about it, and very itchy. It's gross, really.

After that discovery, though, I really didn't have a choice: I had to leave. My mood was such that I wouldn't have been much fun, anyway, and with stress from my new job starting last week, I was already pretty much faking it already. So I told my friend I wasn't feeling well and ducked out at midnight for what was supposed to be a huge fanfare til 5 am kind of night. I feel really horrible about that, still. Somehow I made her birthday about me, and that SUCKS. Normally I would have just sucked it up and dealt with it for her, but adding the contagious factor made the decision very very clear.

I've already spent probably $150 on anti-itch medicines, pesticides, bleach, lysol, two treatment lotions that promise that they'll work, bath oils, and about 8 loads of laundry (super hot water and hours and hours in the dryer at high heat = HUGE electric bill this month).

I then went to the doctor who was a total waste of time and $86. Even though I told her about my roommate's diagnosis and showed her the bites, she wouldn't believe that it was the same thing, all because it didn't 100% fit her little description of the mites and how they are transmitted. I handed her my diagnosis on a silver platter, and she had to be convinced that they weren't flea bites and that I somehow got them even though I barely see my flat mate and we only share door knobs and light switches. My doctor seemed to think we shared a bed or at least a bedroom. Nope. Swear to God, hand on heart, these things were transmitted to me via hard surface. There's no other explanation. I've been so busy I haven't even sat on the couch in the past two months! I've had probably an hour's worth of conversation with her all month, we are total ships in the night, but get along great and each do our jobs to keep the place clean and tidy and a pleasant place to live.

The doc seemed to think I was bitten by fleas. Are you kidding? Who goes to the doctor for a few flea bites?! She even wrote down the word 'fleas' for me to emphasize her point. Right, that makes you correct. After convincing the doctor that a) we don't have fleas--you can see fleas and we don't have 'em, especially since my roommate bug-bombed the place as soon as she started getting bitten and b) there's nothing else it could be, she broke down because she wanted to break the world-record for most patients seen in a day or something, and prescribed me the exact medication that I'd already bought and treated myself with for $13.50. OMG. I spend $86 on a doctor's appointment and missed a half a day of work for absolutely nothing. I was hoping that her prescription meds were a little stronger or something, but no, they are the exact same stuff as over-the-counter! Completely useless!!

I've taken sulfur-soap showers/baths every day to help kill the buggers/reduce the itch--my skin has never been so soft or exfoliated. My room/house/sheets have never been so clean. I change and launder my sheets daily and stuff them in a clean huge ziplock. I can only hope that something works! I trolled the internet and some people live with this for years! Luckily, my roommate says that her treatment is working, and she has less bites, so maybe we will slowly kill them all. Any advice?

ETA: roommates bites are coming back! NOOOOO! I've treated myself with permethrin 5% monday evening and Saturday evening. got about 30 bites on wed., awful. thursday was bad, friday better.

Windfaaaaaaaallllllll

What a lovely Auckland autumn it's been. Even more so now that I have received a windFALL (get it? autumn...fall?). Imagine my surprise when I received a paycheck notice in my email inbox today...I just received one last week!

At first, I thought that maybe my new position paid me the opposite week than I'm used to--that would actually be a good thing, too, as my rent checks would be paid on the same day that my paychecks came through, plus I could take advantage of the remaining three paycheck months left in the year.

But when I looked at the pay stub, I realized that my old company had just paid out my vacation time, time off in lieu, and for the rest of my salary (ie, last Monday).

I've already cleared 20 days of vacation time with my boss later this year, so we'll work something out so that I don't have to take unpaid leave. Which means that the $2,456.13 I received today is ALL MINE! Guess what, I got a bonus after all from my crazy old company!

Now what to do with it? With no real savings goals at the moment, I have to be careful--I don't want to turn this windfall into a wind FAIL.

Problem

I have a work problem that is too big for me to solve by myself, so I'm hoping someone out there can help:

For one of my projects, we work with people across the world. We have a rather large set of data (files are ~10 GB or more, in some cases) that we want to share and store securely somewhere for the next 2 years while the project is going on. We don't want to store it on NZ servers because the folks in other countries are sensitive--we need to store this data in a neutral place where everyone on the team has access equally. There are about 15 to 20 people on the team who need access. What is the best solution to this problem?

ftp host? Cloud site? Other? Which one and which program?? It has to be easy to use and store up to 250 to 300 GB of data at a time, maybe more. We're OK with paying.

Accepting any and all opinions...Thank you!