Elisa got a new job, and I can only think of one thing to say ... oh shit. (That, and, you know, congratulations or whatever.)

I am truly happy that Elisa is making her way in the corporate world, but where does that leave me in the contest? Sure, she'll (hopefully) be throwing down over a business suit or two (or whatever you wear when you have freedom beyond khakis and a white or black collared shirt), but I hardly think I can sit back and wait for her to overspend. (It's not a good contest strategy ... and it's not very nice.)

You might have noticed that Elisa will be making about TWICE her current salary. While you're cheering for her, remember ... right now, Elisa and I make the same salary. So she'll be making twice my salary. This cheap woman has some work to do.

The garage sale was a good start (my total was about $325), but I can't stop there. The way I see it, I need a two-pronged defense strategy: Make more, Spend less. (Groundbreaking, I know.)

I'm already on board with spending less, but how to make more? I work about 40 hours a week at Starbucks, so it's not like I have a lot of spare time. I've also been picking up hours at my old bookstore, but they only have so much to give me.

First off, I'm increasing my output for a craft fair this Saturday. It's at Lucy's ... right next to the Starbucks at UAB. And, yes, you not only get good coffee and superior pastries (sorry, Starbucks fans, but our pastries are crap), you get karma points for supporting local business.

I'll post more details about the sale later, but right now I'm concentrating on knitting a bunch of coozies for the event. My goal is to knit 20 by Saturday (that's an incredibly ambitious -- borderline stupid -- goal, by the way). Friday I'm off work, so I've declared it "The Day of A Thousand Coozies" and I'm planning to knit as long as my little fingers can stand it. (I mean "a thousand" figuratively, of course.)

A friend of mine is stuffing envelopes for a local stationary store and, apparently, making quite a bit of money. It's time consuming and monotonous, but you can watch movies while you work. And I love movies! Anyway, when my schedule clears a bit (yeah right ... here's hoping), I'm going to ask if I can sign up too.

The trick is to find work that will earn me some extra cash while still being somewhat enjoyable. I like the idea of coozies and envelopes because they allow me to make money at home (I really like my apartment).

The bottom line is, this contest would be easier if Elisa hadn't gone and gotten rich (yeah, that's a joke ... twice our salary still requires careful budgeting, just not monthly panic attacks). But it wouldn't be as interesting. Can I make as much money serving coffee and crafting as Elisa will climbing the corporate ladder? Time (and by "time" I mean "December") will tell. I'm looking forward to the challenge.

SHOUT OUTS
KEVIN ... for free Bright Eyes tickets!