Category: Blog

Lucky

I won a $50 gift certificate to First & Last Tavern on Main St, from a local radio station contest. A month or so before that, I won two tickets to a concert at Infinity Hall (I thought my parents would like to go, and they declined). Last week I won a free lunch at a restaurant in Manchester, though there is a catch. I don’t think this is luck, rather I think it is more reflective of how I’m currently moving through life.

I travel around the state constantly, for work, and I’m exposed to and open to more things than most people are. The amount of interactions I have in a day if phenomenal, and it reminds me of being on the bus tour. That was a big change for all of us – living out in the open, exposed to each other and anyone who happened to pass by. While we were collecting signatures on Main St., Peter was reminded that he hadn’t really been out there, talking to people since the Tour.

I’m lucky to be in a place in my life where I’m not cooped up in my own world.

Conditioned

The last few days have firmly placed me into the pro-air-conditioning camp. I grew up without air conditioning in my house, and it was always a treat to spend time in someone’s house that had it. We plopped a window unit, that our landlord left, in our bedroom window. It can cool that room, but that’s all. I’ve never had an air conditioner in my bedroom before, and it is an incredible luxury. And I think I’m hooked. Now I’m trying to figure out how to get the entire apartment cooled. In my dream house, it is designed well enough that I will never need air conditioning. But I’m not there yet, and it’s hot out.

I also need to figure out something to do for my day job. I spend most of my time outdoors, and I’m not driving a vehicle with air conditioning. I had no problem in the winter, though it was admittedly mild, I can always put on more layers. But now, I have to figure out a way to still look professional without sweating my ass off. This is a work in progress as well, but I’m looking to golfers for answers. They dress well enough to get into country clubs, and aren’t dropping like flies around the course. It’s a happy medium I need to achieve.

Matzo Man

Passover was this last weekend, and I celebrated with my new annual tradition: buying cheap matzo. On Sunday morning, the day after Passover ends, supermarkets slash the prices on their leftover matzo stock. Usually going for ~$4/lb, the matzo market dips as low as $0.50/lb once the holiday passes. Nishi stumbled onto this event last year by accident. She was browsing through the bargain aisle of our local Stop & Shop, when she found a 5lb box of Matzo going for $3. She figured I would like it because it’s bland, and if I didn’t it wasn’t a big loss, so she bought it. And it turns out I really really like matzo. I did a good job of rationing that package, and finished my last cracker sometime in October.

This year, realizing this event was approaching, I made plans to go a-matzo hunting with a friend. First, we returned to the Stop & Shop that started it all, where we struck out. Someone had beaten us to the punch, and an empty shelf greeted us where all the cheap matzo was supposed to be. It’s worth noting, that there was premium matzo left at about $1.50/lb, but that wasn’t quite the score we’d been hoping for. On to the Price Chopper! Where we struck out again. Nothing in the bargain aisle, and the ethnic food aisle only has the usual $4/lb boxes. We conclude that we probably jumped the gun, and the deals may not appear until mid-week. We part ways, me heading to my car, him heading off to buy regular groceries. I’m getting into my car as my phone rings – Mike had found the matzo! At $0.50/lb! I took no chances and packed the back seat of the Buick with 40lbs of matzo.

It never goes bad, isn’t bad for you, and satisfies the munchies – I’m sold.

A Trade

I’m starting to realize that I have a marketable trade. It isn’t a new skill of mine, but it is one that I’m just now starting to exploit. It is, of course, web design. I don’t fancy myself much of a designer, and I have no graphical skills to speak of, but I know what makes a good website, and I know my way around WordPress. I have recently, or am still in the process of, bartering redesigned websites for a wood stove, music (concerts and songs), and a custom hood ornament. I get the feeling this is only the beginning. It’s easy for me to do, and make a huge impact on the people I do it for. I’m making sure I pace myself – I don’t want to kill my love of it and turn it into a job.

Budgeted

I’ve roughly blocked out what it will cost to turn the bus into a full-time livable dwelling. That, combined with the cost of converting the 300 SD to run on veggie, means I will have very little money in savings by the end of this year. But it also means my cost of living going forward will be pretty damn low. Seems like a good trade.

I’m getting lots done across the board – I’ve been getting better at budgeting my time. It felt last week like I had bitten off more than I can chew, but I think I’ll be ok. I can tell myself that this is just a period of time in which many projects overlap, and it will pass. I know other projects will rise to replace the fallen, but I can ignore that for now.

Too Much

It’s been a while since I’ve had a day to relax. I’ve had things scheduled after every work day, through every weekend, and I have no time to just sit and think. It’s making me depressed, and I’m getting less done in general. Not a good trend. I’m thinking more and more that I may deviate from the five year plan, and take things easy. Work somewhere part time, learning something I enjoy, saving up a little at a time. It will take longer to achieve total independence, but the freedom afforded me seems like a fair trade. I’ve gone back and forth on this before. Screw around now, and work towards independence later? Or do it now and retire at 30? Maybe I can reach a happy medium.

300 SD


I bought a car. I’m pretty excited. It’s not my first vehicle, but it is my first car, and it’s going to be a veggie burner as well. A 1983 Mercedes 300 SD. It’s in fairly good shape, though there is definitely some aesthetic work to be done, it’s mechanically sound. Here’s hoping in one year’s time I’ll own my own home, and my own car, and both will run on waste vegetable oil.

Domesticated

New apartment is fully functional. It is really quite nice, and I’m pleased with the amount of cheap or free things we were able to furnish with. Our living room is literally lined with seating – the only gaps are the two doors. There is presently no TV in the room, and I’m a fan of that. Sure, it’s not ideal for watching movies, but it makes the room seem much more inviting as a place of conversation. The bedroom has a real bed (it’s been a while), and places to put our clothes, and nightstands for storing random crap. Nishi has figured out what to do with hers, but mine is basically functioning as a junk drawer. The kitchen is bright, open, and able to seat anywhere between two or ten at our fantastic drop-leaf table. I have a wok that I’m still breaking in, but will start working its way into daily usage. Our hallway is lined with books, and our office/guest room is ready for use. This is by far the most presentably place I’ve ever lived in.

Trendsetter

Nearly two years ago, I started carrying a flashlight, pocket knife, and lighter around with me day-to-day. This was largely a result of the bus trip, where I took to carrying a flashlight around with me to better see vegetable oil. I also carried a lighter around with me, so I could light our propane stove. I noticed that just having these tools available to me presented a host of opportunities to use them. After the trip I got a good pocket knife/multi-tool, that has been solely responsible for fixing several minor (yet incapacitating) bus repairs. I use each of these once a day on average, often just lending them to someone else who needs a good tool. It sets me up for jokes about being a boy scout and always prepared and all, but Christmas has come and I’m vindicated.

As of right now, my uncle and girlfriend both have the same flashlight and knife, and my dad just sports the knife for now. I’m glad people can still realize the value in a good tool.

Unqualified

After a little back and forth with a mortgage broker, I now know that I am not qualified for a mortgage of any significant amount. Nishi’s self-employed income won’t count until she has two tax returns filed, and the commission from my job won’t count for just as long. What’s more, my base pay won’t count for another three months, so I’m very unqualified for any kind of mortgage. I guess this is good in some sense, since it seems they’re actually checking who can afford a mortgage and who can’t. The funny thing is that a few years ago, while unemployed and still in college, I probably could have gotten a loan for whatever. Oh well, no matter, on to other options.