Posted on by Female, Single & Hustlin'

Probate Paralysis Analysis by Dawn Wiley

One of my side gig clients is a Probate Realtor.   She and I met in June of this year and have been working together every since.  One of the things she told me she wanted to accomplish was a book that she had in mine from her experiences with working with families going through the Probate process and what she’s learned from attorneys, CPAs and court clerks.  Not a pretty process, to say the least.

Well, I’m excited to announce that her vision to write her book finally came to fruition (and I helped, as expected). Her book — after many revisions and cover artists — is available on Amazon.

I’ve the pleasure of reading it (and knowing something about Probate when my Nana died a little of a decade ago) and I will it’s very insightful and it’s an easy.  It’s almost like “Probate for Dummies” in that since it breaks it down in smaller bites of understanding what to expect and what to do when someone you love dies and they didn’t have a Living Trust.

Take a look if you don’t believe:

 

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Posted on by Female, Single & Hustlin'

Everyday I’m Surveyin’

But seriously, though.  I can’t remember the last time I paid for something I wanted with my own hard earned money.  I spend money.  On groceries, my internet, my cell phone bill, rent – obviously.  But when it comes to the important-but-not-necessarily-life-sustaining-essentials, I am Amazon gift carding the hell out of those items.  And I do it all (just about) with surveys.  And I take a lot of surveys. MC Research Survey - Edited

Posted on by Female, Single & Hustlin'

Wine Wednesday: Wild Horse Merlot

I was only supposed to be looking at an apartment.  Beautiful. Not as modern as I would like. Carpet flooring …ech! But, two modest bedrooms, one bathroom, upstairs unit, kitchen balcony, kitchen comes with stove and dishwasher.  Apartment has space for washer and dryer in the unit.  Huge living room closet. Questionable. $1,500/mo.  Location: San Pedro. Ugh. Why?

A friend of a friend owns the property and just had his recent tenant vacate the place in July. Beautiful view of the ocean and glimpses of Catalina Island.  Just an hour’s commute from my underpaying job. 

But when he brought out this bottle of Wild Horse Merlot, it perked my spirits right up.  I am not in a position to move 25 miles away from my largest income source – although that is a common Los Angeles practice – it doesn’t mean I should remove myself completely from the market altogether.   Two glasses in and I almost asked for an application.  Red wine does those kinds of things to you.  But I liked it.it wasn’t chilled but tasty of its tart flavored fruits. 

It’d be nice to find a new affordable place soon.

Posted on by Female, Single & Hustlin'

It’s Only Tuesday

I don’t know what made my Tuesday more: the pair of shoes I thought I could break in today or coming home and finding “Wet Paint” signs and repainted walls and handrails all over my building that look no better than the art work of a 5 year old.  Which is insulting.  To the 5 year old. 

I originally planned to meet a client after work to drop off some work I had finished and pick a check. (Don’t worry, their checks are good, I’ve working with them for over fours years now and not a single check has ever bounced.)  But lo and behold, she was unavailable and pushed our meeting to tomorrow and saved my feet from an excruciating amount of pain.  More so.

These are the little annoyances in my life.  And I allow them.  Because I want better. I need better. And I’m willing to work for it. So I allow these annoyances as reminders to myself as to what I’m working towards. Because if I’m not working for something better, I have no idea what I’m doing with myself. 

Posted on by Female, Single & Hustlin'

Monday Night Rant: Shit My Supervisor Emails

“Please send me a quick email with the status of your October calendars.

Are they complete?

Have they been mailed/emailed?

How many are pending? Why?

When do you expect to be done?

Thanks! ,”

 

This is the kind of shit my supervisor will email to us (everyone in my department) that pisses me off.  You know how you’re so annoyed with what was just said or done that you just gotta laugh it off because if you react too fast, you wind up fired?  It’s like, what fresh bullshit is this?!  Did my supervisor really ask why weren’t we done with our October calendars after asking how many are pending?  For real?!  Because I’m working on other shit you put on my plate, that’s why THIS particular shit isn’t done yet.  ‘Cause I’m working.  On.  Something.  Else. 

Just laugh to keep from losing your job. 

 

 

Posted on by Female, Single & Hustlin'

Get-Away: Santa Catalina Island

I gotta say, I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit that in all my 32 years, I have only recently visited Catalina Island for the first time.  Typically, there’s an expense for getting away and I’m always rationalizing away the fact I cannot afford it because I am working/saving/plotting/planning/waiting for the right time.  Is there ever one?  No.  So this past Thursday my gentleman friend and I boarded the Catalina Express and headed west 26 miles.

Aside from the mild sea-sickness I knew I was going to feel, I truly enjoyed myself.  A lot of walking if you don’t rent one of those putt-putt golf cart vehicles.  Which we didn’t. So we walked most of the tourist part of the island.  We took a tour of the Casino, the Museum and a few neighborhood walks.  We were going to do the Hummer tour that covered the whole island, but we didn’t have enough time before our ferry boat would return back home.  And it was a good thing we got in line for boarding when we did (about 30 minutes for the suggested time).  The boat was packed on the way back home, unlike it was when we left at 6am.

It drizzled on and off that day and from those still in LA, apparently it had rained consistently through noon.  But the weather lightened up and the sun broke through for us, so I had no complaints.  I just loved taking a day in which there was no work, no clients, not hustle, not responsibility and just enjoy myself.  Something, I feel like I need to do more often that not.  Will I?  [Shrugs shoulders].   I will try, though.

Posted on by Female, Single & Hustlin'

75 Bright Ideas

Making Sense of Cents compounded a list of 75 gigs — side hustles — that anyone can do to earn some extra money.

I gotta admit, I don’t think I’ve seen a list this long in awhile.  I went through it three times just to see what activities I’ve attempted and was mildly impressed by ideas I had yet thought of.  Of the 75 activities they’ve listed to earn extra money, I’ve attempted 14.  That’s 14 before I knew this list existed.  Of the 14, four had actually earned me money.  Three of these extra-money-earners, I’m currently in the works of working on.  And the rest are by the wayside.

These ideas are great, but just like everything else, you gotta be willing to but the work and time to, well…. make it work.

Wanna know which four have already earned me money in the past?

Posted on by Female, Single & Hustlin'

Wine Wednesday: Uncensored White Blend

What do single gals enjoy?

Wine!

When do we want it?

Now!

Well, y’know, please.

In no way, shape or form would I ever call myself a wine connoisseur.  Enthusiast, maybe.  Expert, nah!

But in the middle of week, when chances are my work load has doubled and side gig client deadlines are swiftly approaching, I escape — momentarily — in a glass.  And tonight, I’m enjoying something I purchased from the 99 Cent Store on Wilshire and Fairfax a while back .   They no longer carry wine or other spirits due to increasing theft, which I thought was ridiculous.  I mean, how desperate do you have to be to steal a $2.99 bottle of wine?  I’ll never know.  Glad I held onto the bottles I did purchase while they were still selling them.

Now, I typically lean towards more wine reds as being my favorite, but I love all God’s wines equally.  This White Blend from Uncensored is drinkable.  Light bodied, slightly fruity — grapefruit, apricot, apple flavors  — does the trick on this Fall’s Eve just nicely.

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Posted on by Female, Single & Hustlin'

Rejection

I learned early on rejection is just another tool for success.  You can’t let it get personal and you definitely can’t let it stop you.

Michelle,

Thank you for taking the time to meet with us. Unfortunately we have decided to select another candidate for the position. It was a very difficult decision to say the least.
We wish you the best of luck on your future professional endeavors.
Kind regards,
Matt