Anti work rant
Growing up is hard. There isn't a day goes by without me thinking: Why the hell would anyone want to grow up? So, I'm only at college and, sure what do I know about the potential joys of adulthood - I'm barely skirting its edges at the moment. But I do know that what I see of it from my educational ivory tower, I don't much like. I mean, let's take jobs for a start shall we? You gotta have a job. There's no choice in the matter: you gotta have a job, and it's gotta pay enough. Most probably, that'll require you to work five days a week. Five days a week!? Man, that's crazy! That only leaves TWO for yourself and everything else you might be. OK, so you could go part-time or what have you, but that means making sacrifices which to be honest, no-one seems willing to make. And besides, if you want that fancy car, house, well-kept wife, well-educated kids and a nice little place by the sea, you're gonna have to keep plugging away, nose-to the grindstone. So much so that you forget what the hell you got in to this thing for in the first place, so that you just keep doing it cos it's all you know.
Work and buy, that's the mantra. Until you get to 60, 65 when you're retired like a lame old dog. At that point you don't care how you spend your time, you're just glad to be out. You're broken, bent double by the workaholic life you led. Death, inevitably, follows. Then there's the responsibility. Financially predominantly. Selecting the right mortgage, loans, current accounts, districts, schools, burial plot. No way! I don't want any of that! The reason I'm studying is NOT to get a high-powered job or attract the right kind of mate. The reason I'm studying is because I want to learn. I want to KNOW. The rest is symptom, and I'm not willing to sacrifice my joy at knowledge, and my will to keep learning for the sake of the norm. No way.
Sorry. Bit of a rant there. Just been cooped up here for too long. I need some sun! Here's a toast to resistance!
Posted by Jim on Thursday, June 12, 2008 @ 5:35 AM
Feeling the pinch
I'm so poor! I knew that being a student would mean delaying the high-life for a few years, but this poverty is ridiculous! I'm not used to it. It's driving me crazy! I can't go out, can't buy any new clothes or CD's; can't go to concerts or the cinema. Hell, I can't even buy the food I like - I've been living off beans for I daren't think how long. It's got to stop I tell you!
So, the first thing I did was go and get myself a part time job. Nothing fancy (and neither is the pay), but it keeps my in britches, as my mom might say. Still, the pay's pretty bad, and I can't work that much due to study, so it doesn't solve the problem outright. I started looking at ways of making a subtle difference. Like things I might spend money on but don't have to (despite what I said above, food is something I enjoy a little too much…), things I could maybe sell (not much there, although some old books and CD's I don't listen to anymore maybe); and also some potential ways of saving more.
One way in particular my friend told me about was looking closely at the way you bank. Not that there's much money going in (too much coming out!), but what mom and dad send to help out (much appreciated) should be able to garner a little interest for the period it stays there. So, I've opened a savings account and, although it seems a little loopy with what I've been saying, I'm putting somemoney in there every month. It's a really great incentive for being that little bit more frugal, and it really doesn't have to be much. I'm ony putting ten dollars a month in, but even that is enough to start things going. It's got a really high interest rate, so I know it's growing all the time! Which is nice.
I also checked out how good my current account was in terms of interest and flexibility and realised that it was really bad! I'd had the same account since I was like 12, and I'd never even thought of changing. That is, til now. I had a shop around and discovered some current accounts that have nearly three times the amount of interest than my old one! So I switched! Simple. Anyway, none of this is going to make me rich, but it does make me feel like I'm not just pouring my money down the drain.
Posted by Jim on Tuesday, June 10, 2008 @ 11:47 AM
Back to the UK
The end of the semester is (oh joy!) fast approaching. Which means (more joy!) another trip to see my folks over in the UK. They moved out there when I started here, but rather than it being a monetary pain in the ass to go see them enough, it's meant a new-found freedom for me. I mean, they're all the way over there in Britain: I can pretty much do what I want!
Still, I do miss them (slightly), and it's always good to really get away from this place during the breaks and return to the fold. Being as it's a big ol' flight from Atlanta to London, England, the cost can be astronomical even having scoured the net for cheap flights. Otherwise, I just don't have enough cash for it, and my parents only provide for a couple of trips a year.
So - and considering how frugal I usually am with money - I've decided to go ahead and investigate loans online. I only want a small one of course - just enough to get me to the UK and back. Plus a little extra. Hey, a guy's gotta have a little fun, right? Besides, you're only young once, and if you can't run up a little debt here and there then you're not living, right? Ok, Ok - it's a little frivolous, especially in the current economic climate. But I really want to see my folks and the UK again, and I can't keep expecting them to provide for me. Besides, if my grand scheme of world programming-domination goes to plan, I'll be a web 2.0 millionaire before the decade's out! Then I'll laugh at all this petty worrying. Just need to choose the right major… In the meantime however, the loan I found won't break the bank - I can pay it off pretty slowly and pretty easily, and it'll let me live like a king - if only for a coupla weeks. AND my folks will be overjoyed to see me. I think. That is until I tell them about the loan (Mom - if you're reading this, don't worry!). Ah, well - I figure in the end it's a sign of independence. Right?
Posted by Jim on Tuesday, June 03, 2008 @ 12:40 PM