Being Amber Rhea

Income does not necessarily equal wealth. Is it fair for Warren Buffett’s secretary to pay the same or a higher tax percentage than he does? “Warren Buffet takes a salary (taxable @ 35%) of $150K but has net wealth of $50+ billion. Under BO’s tax plan, he gets a tax cut.” Getting rid of loopholes that allow this makes perfect sense. Punishing small businesspeople without his kind of money in the bank, without the ability to use tax lawyers to evade taxes – doesn’t.

I love that Octogalore discusses these issues which are so often overlooked in the feminist blogosphere. They are occasionally touched upon by the mainstream media but in an overly simplistic, reductive way, devoid of any analysis. And the reason I think they’re absent from the feminist blogosphere is too many people are afraid of looking like “capitalists” or whatever, and there’s a whole lot of hairshirt-wearing and self-flagellating and I’m just fed up with it.

I said something similar at Ren’s recently:

It just IRRITATES me. Someone’s gross income doesn’t tell the whole story, by a longshot. What if they have a ton of debt from putting themselves through school? What if most of their income goes toward taking care of a sick parent or child who needs medication, medical devices, nursing care, etc.? At the same time, the “artist” who makes (based on their W2, anyway) $20k a year might be living off inheritance or a trust fund, or mom and dad’s money in some other way. My point is, you just never know, and it’s not okay to assume.

No one responded. *shrug*

The school thing has always been a big pet peeve of mine. Someone whose parents paid for their college education and someone who paid for their own education through loans might make the same amount of money on paper, but their situations will be very different.

Oh and that reminds me of when I was in college and took a job at Baxter Street Books, and they paid minimum wage, and I asked the boss if I could have more hours, and she took me aside and said this wasn’t really a job for people who were actually trying to support themselves, it was more a job for kids with money to just have something to do. There was a girl who worked there who was my age (20) who had just had laser eye surgery. I felt like we came from different planets. Which I guess we did.

(Note: I don’t feel like getting into a big economic debate here. So if you want to go off about how horribly wrong I am, you can, but I’m not going to respond.)

I have several posts on particular topics saved as drafts, but since I’ll probably never actually write them all, I decided I’ll just do one post addressing all or most of them. Besides, reading my archives (which I’ve been doing periodically over the past week or so, as I slowly go through and tag the old pre-WP entries and update old URLs) made me remember that that’s how I used to write my blog all the time, that’s what comes naturally to me, and that’s why and how I started blogging in the first place. So, back to basics!
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Re: this Feministe post (which a friend emailed me, because as I mentioned, I’ve been taking a break from reading most blogs)…

I must rant as if no one is looking, briefly.

I’m fed up w/ this bullshit. FED UP. I am just sick of all this groupthink/lockstep mentality going on. And I’m sorry but I’ve always thought that the people who think socialism is so awesome are privileged in their OWN way (as much as I’m sick of the word “privilege” being thrown around so much, too…) because it’s like, you know what, I know what it’s like to NOT have money, and I know it’s not romantic or revolutionary or transgressive - it SUCKS. So for me, having money is empowering not to mention “empaychecking.” Not everybody has the luxury to worry about what the best economic system is when they have to put food on the table, ever think of that? Plus the same old thing I keep coming back to… WHY is having money BAD?? It’s what you do with that money that counts, and yeah, feeding your family is pretty damn awesome. If you also have enough money to help others outside your family? GREAT!! But serious change takes economic leverage, and if we constantly vilify anybody who has a certain amount of money, we’re going to shoot ourselves in the foot.

I’m fucking sick of it.

So there yo go. Cast me out, if you will. *shrug*

Originally posted as a comment on Octogalore’s thread by the same name.

• I am really starting to hate the word “privilege.” Not the concept, not the legitimate analysis; but the way it’s so often tossed around as an insult and a shield. The way even saying this makes me sound like the right-wing assholes I loathe. Big ol’ FAIL stamp to all that.
• Whenever someones says something about a “soul-sucking corporate job” as if this is a generally-understood, universally-loathed thing, I bristle.
• I think people who talk about doing what you love and the money will come, or it’s more important to do something for love, passion, commitment, dreams, ideals, etc. than money, have never really known what’s it’s like not to have a safety net (or never had a circumstance come up where they had to realize they don’t have one).
• When people ask - no, expect - me to do “pro bono” web development work, it REALLY offends me. It makes me feel like they don’t appreciate my work or value my time. It comes off as them saying their time is more valuable than mine.
• I love Starbucks. Same as last year’s confession!

Go on over to Octo’s post and leave your own!

Repost from the comments on this (excellent!) post by Octogalore…

—

Anyway. Looking at older, well-off women (”OWW”) as foreign creatures - moms, or well-off friends’ moms… sometimes, I want to say: how do you know that won’t be you? Why are you so sure these people have no relationship to you or your interests? You really never know. And you really don’t know if, in becoming… that… you’d lose your humanity, perspective, values.

THANK YOU!!!

That’s one of the things that bugs me the most about this whole theme. And it’s not just the age thing, but the “age-with-money” thing. Like, if you reach a certain age, and/or have a certain amount of money, suddenly some evil fairy touches you with their wand and you become “out of touch?”

The money thing in particular, I find quite offensive. As if it’s bad to have money. As if it’s bad to achieve monetary success. I’m sorry, but a whole lot of it reeks of jealousy and cluelessness. And I feel like I can’t say any of this very many places, because people will be like, “Oh yeah? Well, PRIVILEGE!!! You just say that because you must be rich, and you don’t know what it’s like to deal with blah blah blah…”

Oh really?

And those kinds of assumptions make me LIVID. How DARE you (general “you”) assume anything about my past, or my present for that matter, based on the fact that I don’t think having money is the worst sin ever? Having money allows one to do things to help others! Not that you can’t help others without a ton of money, but it sure doesn’t hurt! The economic leverage allows you to do some very concrete things to effect change.

I don’t come from money. AT ALL. I make a decent living in my job now, but I doubt I’ll ever shake the underlying fear/knowledge that the bottom could fall out at any time. That it’s all so tenuous. This is something that I don’t observe in my friends who grew up with a relatively more stable economic situation. They don’t get nervous dropping a few hundred dollars on, say, a new TV, if they have a few thousand in the bank and some savings to boot. Why should they?

Anyway, I’m rambling, and veering all over the place. I hope this makes sense. And aw hell, I might end up reposting it as a post on my own blog.

Today I had a rather lengthy email exchange with Christopher Penn about sex work, economics, financial aid, and stereotypes. (Yes, all of those things together!) I was frantically typing away in multi-tasking mode while at work, and somehow my replies ended up being longer and smarter-sounding than I’d expected, so I figured I had blog material on my hands. (I did some minor editing to fix typos and such in the parts I wrote.) Hence:
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Octogalore, in a comment on Ren’s site, in response to a commenter called JZ:

You also say: “Having money is also weakly empowering.” There are two serious problems with that.

First, it’s an incredibly privileged statement. Can you imagine how single moms who cannot pay their food/electricity would feel about how weakly they could be empowered by money?

Secondly, it’s an antifeminist statement. Telling women how unpowerful money is, and how much more rewarding other nonmonetary rewards are, is a powertool of the patriarchy.

Know why? Because the political positions that we don’t have the resumes for (because we chose not to pursue wage-earning), the VP jobs at companies who have the power to promote women (or not), the media leaders who have a role in what images of women to put forward? Guess who gets those if the gals back off? Wanna tell them how weakly empowered they are?

I could not agree more.

So far I’ve been too busy to write anything, but Ren has a great post that everyone should read, because it talks about something that I think a lot of people fail to consider in the discussions of decriminalization and destigmatization.

How’s my credit? Well, what credit? I have one, exactly one, credit card that I use for emergencies and travel (air miles). It is paid off on time, because oddly enough, while many credit card companies will bend over backwards to give you a credit card, somehow that changes if your occupation is “stripper”. So I try to keep the thing paid off. I have primarily for years used cash for everything: down payments, daily living, medical expenses- cash in full often- because it is easier often to hand over x amount of dollars for a dental visit or a car or any number of things when on all those little forms they ask name, age, occupation, job title, company…and your answers include stripper, porn performer, or god, goddess and all the little deities…an illegal aspect of the sex industry- a job you cannot write down at all. In the case of the window fellow…I handed him cash for the down payment, did not answer any of those little questions, and Mr. E is the one whose occupation, job title, and credit information went on those little forms…

You see, cash works for us, because you hand cash over and take your purchase. Qualifying for a car loan, a home loan, a home equity loan, a line of credit period, getting approved for an apartment or rental property, even if you do make good money in the sex biz? In many parts of the US, and the world in general, no easy task. Nor is getting insurance of any sort, or any other manner of little things a lot of people take for granted. And not only do you often not get those things, you get to deal with the looks, questions, and speculations of the people who you are filling out those little forms for. It’s lovely, really.

How about when you apply for a second straight job, or leave the sex biz for a straight job? Invariably, potential employers want to know what your other or previous line of work is/was…and my my, can’t that be interesting! Sure, in some fields, no one really cares. It’s easy enough to grab a gig in retail, or as wait staff, or a bartender, even as an office hand in various businesses, but a real office position? In a “straight” industry? Even if it is a job a trained monkey can do? You lie. You don’t tell other people what your other/former job is. You make up previous employment if you have too, and hope they don’t bother to check references. How about school? Well, I can tell you both professors and fellow students look at you oddly if sex work is paying the bills. And sure, sometimes one can hide what job they are in…in fact…most people can for a time, but sooner or later, people find out. And they talk.

And I suppose I don’t need to go over the just generalized opinions people have about sex workers again, do I?

She says “it’s the little things,” but I would argue that this stuff is BIG.

This is the stuff that folks in the middle-class “straight” world take for granted. You buy a new car and write down your occupation on the loan application… no big deal, right? It doesn’t get a second thought. See, the fact that this is almost never discussed - because it’s never thought of to begin with - is the very definition of privilege. And all of us who don’t work in the adult industry have that privilege.

I never know who to tip and who not to tip. Like this morning, when I called AAA and someone came and towed my car to the dealership (the repairs are going to cost me close to $800, btw… fun) - should I have tipped the tow truck driver? I don’t think I should, so I didn’t. But I don’t know. What’s the standard on that? And when Chem-Dry came out several months ago, should I have tipped that guy? I don’t remember if we did or not. I think maybe Rusty gave him $20. But is that the standard? The Boston Market catering guy seemed really happy to get a tip when he delivered the food for my birthday party. I assume tipping food people is always the standard, but maybe not for catering? Or maybe other people just stiff him a lot? I don’t know.

Before we hired our cleaning lady, I assumed I should tip her every time, just like how I tip the woman who cuts my hair every time. Then a bunch of people said no, don’t do that, instead give her a bunch of extra cash near the holidays. But then recently, someone else who uses a different cleaning service said he tips a few bucks every time, and the service’s web site made it sound like this was expected. And, since Christmas is near, should I leave extra money for our cleaning lady tomorrow, or wait until next time (two more weeks)? And how much should I leave?

This stuff is so confusing! I didn’t grow up rich, so we never hired people to do stuff (except yard work, but I don’t have any clue what the tipping is like on that, either), so I don’t know what the procedure is on any of it! Input, please!

(I originally wrote this in an email, but then I decided, hey, I should just put it up as a blog post.)

I read something a while back from radfem blogger (damned if I can remember who it was; I’ll have to go Googling) talking about how she was a conscientious objector to taxes, and she got so pissed because her dad ended up paying her taxes for her.

:|

Okay first of all, how do you get away w/ not paying taxes? I’m sorry, but the IRS sure as shit knew about it when I forgot to include one of my W-2s in 2004. (Took ‘em almost two years to contact me, but they did eventually!) And that was for a relatively paltry sum.

And, plus… sure, it sucks that some of our tax money goes to fund things like the war… but I really do think it’s like voting. Don’t vote? Don’t complain. I pay taxes and that makes me even more invested in caring about where that money goes. If I could, I’d divide it out and tell the government, “Give all my tax dollars to social services and education, NOT the war.” But, I can’t. So I do what little I can.

Grrrr.

Not much to say today; I’ve got a lot on my mind but I don’t feel like writing about it yet. Earlier today I had a good meeting with Sherry, and another one with Jason Salzman, and they both gave me a lot of things to think about. So I’ve been mulling all of it over in my head all day.

Soon I might write about my worries about money. In the more theoretical sense, I mean. And if certain people (you know who you are) come around here running off at the mouth about my “poor financial decisions,” well, I’ll either laugh my head off or verbally carve them a new asshole. Or both.

Also, I talked with Rusty about an idea I have that’s slowly taking form, for a podcast about sexuality and the intersection of one’s sex life with, well, the rest of their life, and how the internet and “Web 2.0″ (bleh) is contributing to the break-down of arbitrary barriers that have been in place for a long time… and how, in the face of it, a lot of people are clinging fiercely to the old ways and, really, their own repression. Whew! Sorry for the run-on there. Anyway, it’s a nascent idea I’ve got, and I think I also know how to make money from it… we’ll see. Stay tuned.

I feel like a lot of cool things are about to happen, I just have to overcome some personal fears in order to help things along.

(This post written to Sarah McLachlan’s “Into the Fire” - completely coincidental, but seems appropriate.)

Creative Loafing completely misses the mark in Alyssa Abkowitz’s story about the mounting debt in the generation I’m a part of. I cannot describe how disappointed and pissed off I was when I read this story.

The article lost about 20 points right of the bat for using the phrase “Generation Me.” I had to shake my head and give that one another look, because I could’ve sworn someone had stolen my Creative Loafing and replaced it with a newspaper for old, disgruntled Republicans.

Then, the article profiles three people - the first of whom happens to be a fratty-looking white boy with a fauxhawk, who doesn’t care that he’ll be six-figures in debt when he finishes law school, because he absolutely must have name-brand clothing (and date auctions, for Christ sake).

Immediately after the introduction of this jackass, Abkowitz writes:

Phillips and his contemporaries will enter the adult world with the kind of economic baggage no previous generation has ever faced. They are part of what has become known as “Generation Me.” They’ve grown up with a sense of entitlement that’s set them up for failure as adults. And they’ve been indulged with a “gotta have it now” consumer appetite that’s translated into an unprecedented amount of debt before they’re even out of school.

Whoa!! Alarms going off in my head! Did Abkowitz even remotely consider a race or class analysis? Or is lumping all 20-somethings in with this one guy acceptable research by Creative Loafing’s standards?

The next two people profiled in the article approximate something much closer to the reality of most middle to lower class college students these days. But the casual reader will be a lot less likely to give them a fair shake, since the article started off with Whitey McPrivilege. The real issues are hinted at - for example, in the quote from Clark Howard about college being so much more expensive now, and fleeting remarks such as “the traditional safety net has been pulled out from under them” - but Abkowitz never scratches the surface.

This article was highly offensive to me, as someone who is a member of this so-called “Generation Me.” You’re goddamned right, I have a mountain of debt (but less than I would’ve had if I’d stayed at NYU, that’s for damn sure). But guess what, my debt isn’t from buying Polo shirts and going out drinking. I worked my ass off the entire time I was in college and grad school. I took out student loans to cover tuition and related expenses. I worked shit jobs trying to make enough money to pay rent. One summer, I took a job at a bookstore that paid exactly minimum wage, and when I asked the manager if I could work more hours, he took me aside and said that maybe this wasn’t the job for me. See, I was actually trying to support myself, whereas my co-workers included a perky 19-year-old talking about the Lasik surgery she was getting later that year and the teeth whitening she’d just had done, oh and she was going to need to take a few weeks off in July because she and some friends were backpacking through Europe.

How about getting a clue, Alyssa Abkowitz? Things are not the same as they were 30 years ago (as you should know, since you’re a member of “Generation Me” yourself). The problems with debt in the younger generation can’t be completely explained by rampant materialism. Maybe in a segment of the middle/upper class population, sure; but you’re treading on dangerous ground if you think that represents the experience of all young people. (Blackamazon wrote about this a few months ago, too.) This sense of “entitlement” you talk about? Sorry, not seeing it in myself or my friends; unless it was a sense of entitlement that made me take out credit card advances at exorbitant interest rates so that my phone or power wouldn’t get turned off.

You could’ve used this article to address the real issues: the fact that cost of living has increased while salaries have stagnated or decreased; the fact that education costs have ballooned while federal loan money has been repeatedly slashed and federal grant money is now practically nonexistant; the fact that credit card companies descend on college freshmen like vultures the instant they walk on campus; stricter bankruptcy laws, unless you happen to be in the upper echelon, in which case the laws are more lax. To counter that miserable Jean Twenge book, you could’ve cracked open Strapped by Tamara Draut (or if you’re too lazy to do that, here’s a handy chart of the main facts and figures in the book).You could’ve at least cut out Mr. Fauxhawk altogether and focused on the experiences of Juandalyn Coffen and Clayton English, who seem to actually have a foot in reality.

I don’t know what’s happened to Creative Loafing. Seems like lately they’re just interested in perpetuating myths like “Generation Me” with a bunch of vacuous soundbites and putting “man bites dog” stories on the cover.

I am suddenly, disturbingly broke, and it is really hard for me not to get stressed out about it. :( I don’t want this kind of stress and worry to overshadow what’s supposed to be a fun, relaxing holiday weekend, but… it’s hard. I feel bad that Rusty will have to pay for the B&B without any contribution from me - even though I know he doesn’t mind - but there’s really no alternative at the moment.

But hopefully the sitch will change for the better quite soon.

Fuck. I got a notice in the mail from the IRS saying I owe $884 on my 2004 tax return. What the fuck?? I have no idea what that is about, but I do know that I don’t have $884 to throw at the goddamn IRS. Oh and what was really cherry about the notice was that it said, in bold, all-caps letters, YOU MUST RESPOND BY APRIL 19TH or I will face additional fees. Well I just got it today, jackasses… thanks a lot.

I called the number on the form and it took me about 20 minutes to get through all the menu options, listening to bullshit… I couldn’t even push 0 to get out of it. And then I was on hold. And I would probably still be on hold now if I hadn’t hung up because I couldn’t deal with it right now. I know what they’re doing with that shit. They’re trying to make it as difficult as possible for people, so that people will just send them a check and be done with it. So much for a government working for the people.

And that’s another thing… I’m feeling all Big Brother Is Watching Me now. Why me, and why now? As far as taxpayers go, I’m nobody. I’ve managed to work myself into the lower echelon of “the middle class,” with a mountain of debt behind me - just like thousands of other people, whom the government doesn’t give a shit about. When you think audits, you think of them going after the people who, you know, actually make enough money to have it make a difference. So why me?

I’m pissed, but really at this point I just feel beat and overwhelmed. I’m having a little pity party, but I’m going to have it for as long as I want, so fucking deal with it, because it’s my blog goddammit. Why has so much bad shit been happening lately? (Jenny and Niki will relate to that.) Just as an example, first there was all the shit w/ my dad and my family - which, btw, I’ll be in Augusta again this weekend - and now this.

I don’t know what to do. I have so much debt, I really think at this point that I’ll never get out of it. I work so hard - have been for years, ever since I was 18 really - and yet I still have piles of bills, I owe so much money to so many entities, my credit rating is fucked by now I’m sure, and now the fucking IRS is trying to tear me a new one too. What do I have to do? I’ve always played by the rules, I’ve never been a frivolous spender, I’ve always been so sensible and practical - some would say to a fault, but I say they’re irresponsible. Frustrated is an understatement for how I feel right now. I’m trying to remind myself that at least there’s some good - thank god I have Rusty; oh, and I do have internets in my apartment, so that’s good - but jesus, I just feel so beat. I want to punch something.

Really, I don’t know what I want to do. Maybe sleep for a long time. Or practice denial. I’d hire a lawyer but I don’t know what they could do, plus I can’t afford one anyway.

I’ll stop my verbal diarrhea now because it’s almost time for trivia. And I should probably clean myself up, it wouldn’t do to show up and have everyone see I’ve been fucking crying.

• Things with my dad have gone from bad to worse. I’ll be leaving for Augusta tomorrow morning and will be there until Saturday. In all honesty, I am not looking forward to going; but I need (and want) to help my mom as much as I possibly can.
• I’ve moved to the new apartment but I’m nowhere near unpacked. I can’t find any-damn-thing. Fortunately Rusty lives down the hall, so I can camp out with him. But finding clothes to wear is a challenge, even in the face of the looming laundry pile that’s eating his couch.
• I’m pretty much broke. Apparently my rotors were fucked, in addition to my brake pads, so that didn’t help matters. I want to give my parents as much money as possible, but I’m afraid my contribution might be a paltry sum compared to the generous donations of readers and friends. This kind of makes me feel like a loser. How does anybody get by these days, much less save money? (Do not answer that question; it’s rhetorical.) The term “nest egg” kind of makes me want to punch anyone who says it.
• There’s other stuff I can’t write about because I don’t want to get dooced.

I’m not looking for anyone’s sympathy, or phishing for compliments or praise. I’m just stating the facts, and telling y’all why I don’t care all that much about ideological arguments lately.

Thank goodness I have Rusty to help me keep a modicum of sanity; otherwise I don’t know what I’d do. Oh, and I miss Jenny and Niki big time.

• Apparently last night at trivia I left $25 instead of $10. This can be the only conclusion, because when I opened up my wallet to pay for lunch, instead of the twenty and five I was expecting, there were two fives. I like to think I’m a generous tipper, but damn. I could’ve used that twenty bucks.
• There’s an Of Montreal show in Athens tomorrow night, and Cari and I are going. That’s three OM shows in six months… I’m turning into such a groupie.
• My fingernails always look like shit. Other women’s hands and fingernails always look so nice and freshly manicured. What gives? (No, I don’t want you to give me an actual answer; this is purely rhetorical. And no, I’m not a nail biter.)
• Busy, busy, busy. I’m slumming it today with lunch from Krystal. Ugh.

One of my favorite Liz Phair songs, “Shitloads of Money,” contains the following line:

It’s nice to be liked, but it’s better by far to get paid.

Now, if I may alter that slightly to reflect my own (current) views… hence:

It’s nice to do cool stuff, but it’s better by far to get paid.

And now, to completely butcher it beyond recognition…

It’s nice to do cool stuff, but it’s better by far to get paid to do cool stuff.

That’s the ideal scenario, anyway.

Apologies to Liz Phair.

There was a letter from my apartment complex’s leasing office in my mailbox today (dated the 13th, but whatever, it’s only been two days since the last time I checked my mail) informing me of the special, awesome renewal rate for my lease, which I am eligible for because I have been such a valued member of this community for the past two years…

… $72 more per month than what I currently pay.

That’s an extra $864 over the course of a year. I don’t know if I can fucking afford that. Goddammit.

Way to drop this on me right before a holiday weekend, assholes. And of course the office is conveniently closed today. So now this’ll be hanging over my head all weekend. If I move, I have to give 60 days notice - which, since my lease expires on March 31st, would mean I’d have barely one month to figure out what the fuck I’m going to do - including finding a new place and signing a new lease, if necessary.

I really, really don’t want to move. Moving is a pain in the ass and I like where I am now. But $72 will make quite a dent in the monthly finances, such as they are. I wonder if I can talk them down a little, or if they won’t budge. Guess I’ll have to wait til Monday to find out (assuming the office is even open then). What a bunch of dicks.

A medium (or “grande,” to use the gay Starbucks parlance) chai costs 3 cents less in Decatur than in Atlanta. So much for appearing on top of my game by having 56¢ ready to hand over before the cashier gave me my total; but just think what I can do with that extra 3 cents! And if I go to the Decatur Starbucks a few times a week, why, I could save 6, maybe even 9 cents a week! Over the course of a year, that’s… almost five bucks! Hot damn!

Before anyone says it, yes, I know I should be going to Java Monkey instead of Starbucks; but I just can’t get enough of that Tazo Chai. It’s like crack. (And if you want to know why Tazo’s site is only the #10 Google hit in a search for “Tazo chai,” just click the link. I would’ve loved to have been in the meeting where that decision was made… “Okay people, we’re going to do our entire site in a pop-up window - and with Flash! They’re both web standards, after all.”)

Apparently I owe Georgia Power $214. As I was paying my Cingular bill tonight, I got to thinking, “Huh. I haven’t received a bill from Georgia Power in a while.” So I logged into my account on their web site, only to find that I owe out the ass since I haven’t paid them since July. The problem is, I haven’t received a bill since July, so I just forgot. It’s not like I’m trying to swindle Georgia Power out of their rightful ~$50 a month from me. Did I inadvertently sign up for no paper bills or something? Gah. I’ll have to call them Monday and find out WTF is going on. I paid the $214 though. So now I’m well on my way to being broke as a joke again.

Deleted that last, boring entry about how I’m still sick and feeling worse than yesterday. That’s still true, but I thought I’d post something slightly more exciting (to me, anyway). So how about this: the amount I owe on my [almost 5-year-old] car is now officially four digits, rather than five! (Obviously, it would be better if I didn’t owe anything on it, but that’s not the case, so I might as well find the silver lining!)

• It appears that I’ve been on a calcium kick lately. When I get home from work, I snack on yogurt and/or semi-soft cheese. For dinner I’ve become partial to Velveeta shells and cheese with broccoli (which also has a lot of sodium and fat, but that’s not the subject at hand). Plus I take calcium supplement pills when I remember. Guess my bones won’t be going brittle any time soon.
• For a while there I was attempting to count calories, and whatnot. I’ve become disgusted with it and am back to the “eat what you want and be happy” philosophy. Though I suppose I can get away with it more than some, because it’s not like I gorge myself on Big Macs every day.
• Today at work I signed up for the 401k. I figured it’s a good time to do it, since now they’ve started matching 25% of up to 6% contribution, or something. I had to go to this Fidelity web site to sign up for it, and there was this long list of mutual funds and whatnot that I had to choose from. I don’t understand that shit… I think I need a financial advisor or something. In which case, God help me, I will not turn into a Republican!
• Did I mention the fact that now that my W-2 says ’single’ again, I’m getting a lot less money every paycheck? Gah. You know, I make a pretty good salary, and I don’t buy a lot of shit. So why do I suddenly feel poor? The Man is sucking money out of me from every available orifice.
• When I have some free time, I’m going to appease Dipika and attempt to add an RSS feed to my blog. ;) (And maybe get to some general ASB updates while I’m at it.)
• General note: by the time one reaches one’s mid-twenties, one should not use one’s “upbringing” as an excuse for being lame.