Because I'm Worth It

Today was exhausting. I have managed to acquire a head cold right before I leave. It started yesterday. I'm pretty sure it's from the 4 degree night we had on Monday or Sunday? Breathing in all that cold air in my sleep has made me sick. Grrr. So working a 10 hour day today with 1/2 hour lunch and not really eating a lot and working my arse off will make me worse by tomorrow.

Everyone at work was fantastic. I got hugs and faux cheek kisses and lots of well wishes which was really lovely. I guess I don't really realise the effect I do have on people and the friendships I have made at work. Oh but I'm so happy to be outta there for a whole month!

What was surprising was that I received my 'envelope' today. The 'envelope' is my pay rise. I was expecting one and I wanted a certain amount. Surprisingly, my expectation was exceeded. Do I now feel bad for all my bitching, whinging and moaning of oh the last 8 plus months? Nope. Because I'm worth it. And you know what the first thing I thought of when I worked out the figures.... how much I can save for university fees and books next year... LAME!

All I ever do is sacrifice and save. Sacrifice and save. Every year it's always something to save for. 2004 was my car. 2005/2006 was my trip to Eastern Europe. 2006/2007 was spent trying to pay off the debt I got in after I bought my laptop and then Buckley died and I had a $2,300 vet bill on top of my $2,000 odd laptop.... and $80 a week left over after my mortgage and all cost of living/bills to try and pay off my credit card. I got nowhere. So new job in 2008 came with a substantial pay rise and the responsibility of paying back mum and Peter the loan they gave me to pay off my credit card. That got paid in April last year, then in June last year I started saving for this trip that was meant to be 6 weeks in March next year. And now I want to start saving as soon as I get back for Uni. And possibly for a Russian trip in between Uni semesters????

I grew up in a privileged white, European middle class background (Dad is a Pom and came here when he was 14 and grew up in Williamstown. Mum came here when she was 3, lived in a hostel in St Kilda before the old man (ie my grandfather) moved them to Preston. Mum was born in Germany but is of Ukranian decent. My name in Ukranian is Natalka). My parents both worked. They didn't have much of a social life (very sad I know) so what they earned they socked away in the bank. I learned from a very young age that you work hard, you save your money, you sacrifice some things and then you can learn the value of money and appreciate what you have more because of the hard work that has gone into the reward at the end of it.

I hate being in debt. I hate it. So I want to reduce the amount of HECS I will have to pay back if I do my law degree. That means paying some of my Uni fees up front each semester. I want to try to pay half up front each year. That's probably going to be at least $2K - $2.5K let alone the cost of books. But it's something I really want to do and I'm finally ready to do it. I can't wait for it to begin. I'm really excited and I really want to learn and gain new knowledge and challenge myself. What I love so much about the law is that it makes you question things, it makes you think. It makes you go beyond the obvious and ask questions. And I love that. Yeah but why?