A Good Movie For a Cold Day

Freezing cold weather, but I had to get outside.

For the next two weeks I’ll be playing a bit of budget hopscotch, jumping from day to day with only so much cash to get by and calculating when to put a check in the mailbox so it arrives on or after Wednesday’s direct deposit–but not a day before.  This week’s unemployment check will instantly be swallowed up by the mortgage and credit card payments.

I’m living on financial life support, and yet I love that I got to see Coraline today.  It’s one of the most original films I’ve seen in ages, and seeing it in 3-D only added to the experience.   Yes, going to a film is a pricey indulgence nowadays; but it was worth it just to enjoy a well-told story.

Bread-y Bye Time and the Recession Monster

I finished my last test.  I got an A on the test and an A for the course.  Straight A’s for the term. 

I stopped by Second Street Market and bought a loaf of vienna bread and a couple bagels.  On the way home, I tore off a piece of the loaf.  And then another.  It was so satisfying.  So fresh and crusty.   But also carb-y.  And yet these were organic nutrient calories.  I’ll be able to burn them off easier than artificial perservative calories.  When I got home I warmed up some homemade soup and then proceeded to finish off the rest of the loaf.   Then I lugged my soup-and-bread belly over to the couch and slept for a couple hours.

I had to wait a whole day before someone called out that ass on CNBC for his rant against the President.  I’m so tired of people in the financial world complaining.  Sorry, but there’s no silver bullet that’s going to be found and loaded into the big Magic Economy Gun so the big bad Recession Monster will disappear.

People are facing this financial crisis as if were the morning after a wild party and realizing not everyone’s going to get asprin right away.

My Tax Return Is Already Gone Before It Gets Here

I received my property tax bill today. My property was devalued by $10,000, and yet I’m paying $100 more in taxes.

And paying more for what?

The privilege of constantly reminding prostitutes and panhandlers to loiter somewhere else? Watching lives go down the drain forty ounces at a time?

So right now I’m playing a waiting game with the tax return. Once that arrives I’ll have enough to pay the first half of the property tax bill. What I’m really waiting for are the gas and electric bills. Those could siphon off everything I have in checking right now. And that means I’ll probably be juggling to make insurance, car and mortgage payments. Funny, but if it wasn’t for unexpected financial boosts such as the company severance check last month, I wouldn’t have anything in my checking account right now.