"Money, Money, Money... Must be funny... in a Rich Man's World."

My title comes from an ABBA song about, well... money.  This is because I have money on the brain.  Not that I WANT to have money on the brain.  But when you have no money and need money, money tends to be on the brain.

"Oh... all the things I could do, if I had a little money. It's a rich man's world!"

Why do I NEED money?  Well, the way I live requires that I pay rent, utilities, etc.  Not to mention that I have a car I occasionally drive, debt up the wall, and 2 pets to take care of.  As much as I would sometimes like to give up the house and car and live in some commune somewhere, I know that as a modern bohemian, I need access to my technology to thrive.  And I like living in a house as opposed to a tent or my car again.

So I need money.  This is true.
And it's been frustrating because I have a hard time getting money.  Yes, I am on unemployment.  But I constantly run into problems with getting my money on time.  Like right now?  No unemployment money since mid-January.  Grr...

But I am doing everything I can (legally) do to make money.  I am still writing, I worked with my friend at an Expo for $50, I take back cans and bottles from home (and those I gather), I sell stuff to pawn shops and second hand stores, I advertise with Adsense, Google Affiliates, and Amazon Associates, I have many online stores, including at CafePress and Zazzle, and I recently started donating plasma.  I am still also doing some extra work in television and movies (but those opportunities are few and far between), I still sell on Etsy from time to time, and I am a part of Sponsored Tweets and MyLikes.  But I tell ya... for as much as I do, the money is still hard to come by.

I AM looking for a part time job too! (For all you haters out there who think hippies, bohemians, and free-spirits are just lazy...) But the problem is that I am "unqualified" to do a lot of the jobs available.  (Funny, since I have a college degree and 12 years of work experience...) When I DO get interviews, they always go with the person with "more experience." IE: NOT ME.  Frustration!!!

It's awful that a lot of people (friends even) don't understand the stress I am feeling or how desperate things can get around here.  Most of them don't truly seem to realize that I can't really go many places because a.) I can't afford to drive there b.) I can't afford to spend money once there and c.) I am not a person who easily accepts others' offers to "cover it" because I have been burned BAD in the past.  I just want them to understand.

I love my friends and family, but I am in a tough spot.  And until I can somehow dig myself out of it (and I WILL) I hope that they can provide me with a little more understanding.

Anyone else struggling to get by?  What are you doing to pay your bills? Let's help each other out!!

For now, I have to go try to make some more money.

"I work all night, I work all day, to pay the bills I have to pay... ain't it sad?"
Yes, ABBA.  It is sad.

But positivity still rules the day (for now) so I am off to make it happen!!!
Peace and Love,
Meagan

Peace & Love & Follow Friday

Hello all.  Well, it's been a pretty interesting week.  I'm learning the ropes of being poor and realizing how many things I took for granted the few times I have had money as an adult.  This is good, because one day, when I do actually have money again, I will know how to make it stretch AND I will be more grateful for all of the things that I will get to do that I can't do now (like... going to the movies or being able to buy craft supplies or going to P.F. Chang's or being able to buy things with cash instead of pennies...)  So yeah... it's definitely a good learning experience.


So what's been happening.  Well, I have been doing a LOT of writing.  Not a lot of sleeping.  And I've been hanging out with friends, cuddling with Ava Boo Boo, and just living my crazy Bohemian life. :)

And the Westboro Baptist Church came to town.  But not in great numbers.  Apparently, there were only about 3 of them outside of East Lansing High School yesterday. (I decided not to go so as not to give them any fuel for their fire.  I really do just want peace and love.)
In any case, the students showed them that we didn't need any hate coming from them in our community by doing their own peaceful counter-protest.  Read more about it here: NBC News Article on WBC in East Lansing

Anyway, on to today.  Well, today is Friday, and as some of you might know, Friday is "follow friday" on Twitter.  So, I, like many others, having been finding new people to follow today and promoting people to follow as well.  In my "follow friday" adventures, I found a lot of interesting websites to check out.  Here's what I came across:

Lake Erie Artists Gallery

Located in Ohio.  Seems like a neat place.  Plus, I gotta represent for anything "Great Lakes." haha

Sow Peace

I get excited whenever I come across people trying to promote peace.  

Enlighten Your World

I'm a follower!  I can't wait to read more.  It seems like there's a lot of stuff here to help people & the world.

The New Pursuit

One Life. One Planet. Live Deeply.  

I am definitely interested in knowing more...

The Peace Alliance

I will definitely be spending more time on this site too.  Check it out if you want peace.

Peace Love World

Clothing for people who love peace and love.

Ecstatic Peace Records

I know nothing about this site yet, but I like the idea of a record company promoting peace.  So yeah... I'll have to look into it more...

Veteran's For Peace

Heroes working for peace.  Awesome.

Tez Osman's Site

He appeals to me because he believes in sharing creativity, thoughts, and ideas on the web.

Jay Hampton Books

If you're looking for a new book, here's an author I came across today.

Lee Stacey

Musician / Geek / Thinker / Blogger

And these next two are not new finds, but two sites I just think you should check out. :)

Google Translate

Google offers helpful tools to communicate with people all over the world; even if they speak a different language.

PonchoMeg: The Modern Bohemian.com

My brand new website.  All about PonchoMeg: The Modern Bohemian on the web & in life.

And I really don't know what else to write about.  So I will leave you with all that for now.  Now, if you have any great sites about peace, love, creativity, giving, writing, hippies, bohemians, etc. that you like, please share them in the comments so I can check them out too. :)

Peace and Love,

Meagan

Highlights of My Bohemian Weekend (Featuring Furry Friends)

This weekend had a lot of good things in it.  I saw a lot of friends, my sister and her new husband got back safely from their honeymoon, Tum won some pizzas for all the guys, and Will bought some groceries.  Mmm... real food.

In addition to all that, I also got to go to a craft show with my mom in Mason, MI.  It was a great time.  She got a lot of cool stuff and even bought me a snowman! I love him.  He's sitting on top of my entertainment center smiling down at me as I write.

My favorite part of the weekend though?  Putting out the pumpkins from Halloween.  Why?  Well, because when we busted them up and put them out back, the squirrels loved them and went crazy over them!  Check it out:

I LOVE SQUIRRELS!!!!

I know some people have a hard time understanding my love of squirrels and my desire to feed them (most notably, my mom) but there is just something so magical and cute about squirrels.  Maybe it's the puffy tail.  Or... maybe I like squirrels because they are like gypsies.  Hmm....

Anyway, the other thing I did this weekend was research, write, and read.  When I wasn't at the craft show or outside with the squirrels I was working.  But I think it's gonna pay off.  I got an interview with Wilhuff I can work with, lots of new ideas and outlines, and most impressively (maybe): a series of 12 lists on List My Five that give fun and helpful information on your birth month.  If you want to check them out, just click on your birth month below:

January

February

March

April

May 

June 

July 

August

September

October

November 

December

And that's about it.  Oh, except I  forgot to tell you... I got a call from the unemployment office today.  I have to call them back tomorrow.  And talk about what?  I don't know... maybe I just have to beg them to help me! In any case, please wish me luck!  This Bohemian needs some money soon!!

Peace and Love,

Meagan

Oh Life... oh ever changing life...

This has been, and continues to be, a time of interesting highs and lows for the Modern Bohemian.

We'll start with the lows...

I've been sick, and it worries me. (See earlier post)
A friend's father just died
I don't have enough money to pay my rent
I can't seem to be able to get even a part time job out in the "real world" (only online)
and the State wants to cut back on and/or take away my unemployment benefits... which I've received for less than a month.
Etc. etc. etc.
Boo.

But then there are the high notes!  The happy points!  The exciting moments!  Including:
Getting hired to be the Lansing Electronic Music Examiner on Examiner.com.  (Check out my first article with them here: "Macs Bar supports electronic music in Lansing")
Getting my article, The Top Five Zoos in Michigan, featured on the front page of List My 5.
Getting more followers on Twitter
Getting approved as an affiliate for  and  and
and seeing Wilhuff succeed in the online, social networking world.

But where's the in between?  I can't go through life like I'm on a rollercoaster; up and down, up and down!  Sometimes I need some in between.
The ideal ratio would be 70% good things (the highs), 10% bad things (the lows... you know, so that I can still appreciate the highs), and 20% in between (in between.  Neither bad, nor good, just a normal, smooth sailing kind of boring regularity that sometimes help to keep a person sane.)

For now, I probably just have to deal with the rollercoaster ride.  Maybe eventually the good things (like, my writing) can help with the bad things (like... my lack of money), but until then,  I just have to keep trying my best and plugging away and working hard to survive and keep hope alive...

Peace and Love,
Meagan

Friday Oh Friday and Project Runway

So I don't work on Fridays. This is a good thing for sure. Last night I was so tired after work, that as soon as "Project Runway" was over, I was out! I am still tired today! Speaking of "Project Runway"... let me say, I am disappointed with the outcome. I wanted Carol Hannah to win so badly, and honestly, hers was the only collection where I liked every single piece. It seems as though others agree as well. Just check out this article: Irina Wins Project Runway, But Everyone is Talking About Carol Hannah

And even though Carol Hannah didn't win, she is still my favorite. And she's on Etsy! Check it out! Carol Hannah on Etsy

In addition to watching the disappointing "Project Runway" and falling asleep, I also worked yesterday and found out I sold some jewelry! This is always a good thing.

I love making jewelry! I would like to do some more things for my Esty store though (for the holiday season) I thought about doing some centerpieces, Christmas decorations, and scarves. But then the hard part comes in... how will I buy my supplies?

My gluten-free diet is eating up all my money... it's frustrating. But on the plus side, I am pretty sure that I have lost weight (we don't have a scale here, so who's to say? But it seems like it!) My clothes are fitting better so I can't complain. Not that weight loss is the main goal of the gluten free diet, but it's definitely a good added bonus!

Well, I should probably go for now... I have been getting distracted looking at stuff online while I was writing this! haha Some of the things that grabbed my attention:

Project Rungay with Tom and Lorenzo

Twisted Stitches

Hippie Chick Bakery

Carol Hannah's Etsy

And pictures of Carol Hannah and/or Logan. haha

Enjoy.

Peace and Love,

Meagan