While I'm no good with consistent communication that involves detailing my personal day to day life and my somewhat hopeless job search, I do once in a while get to be on the receiving end of very good questions. Often I don't find the time or reason to ask myself seriously questions whose answers are many and varied, but coincidentally my mother asked me this one just two days ago: What are you going to do with the federal refund and rebate checks? "What?", I thought to myself, "I...uh, I have to get back to you" my brain basically decided without realizing it myself until today. Mostly the stall was because I know where most of the money is going (ahem, credit cards...) and also it pains me to think about anything involving the so called refunds that everyone gets to spend except for suckers like me who get to spend it on rent and paying back significant others and credit card companies. Where did my money go? Well After having worked at the Starbucks down the street and getting canned after not waking up to a dead cell phone (useless one and a half year Verizon batteries), my manager decided all the shifts that I had been called upon to cover in those early morning hours would not count towards the very few recorded lateness violations. Such varied times and hours of duty at a coffee house can only be staffed by the most diligent of employees, and I according to her was not up to snuff. Same old story, different month... and after all this time she has apparently been fired herself. I still don't know why exactly, but I haven't had the time to care too much though I might find out soon enough (a few key employees who I considered good friends still work there).
After reading the New York Times article online today that detailed the psychology of lying, I decided not to tell my mother directly about what I needed to use this money for. In truth, I wasn't completely lying and I may have gift cards lying around to buy a Wii fit:
I don't know right now actually. While I don't have much to throw around, it may go towards paying for something fun and then maybe an investment like classes or savings.
What might be a fun purchase? Many things that are indulgent (probably even an understatement as well) As I may have told you, Elise's mother was notified in an e-mail of a very good deal via amazon.com for a one day only sale of the Nintendo Wii Video Game consoles. She was able to purchase three of them for $75 each (normally would have been $250) and was then able to include a game with each system for christmas gifts. Elise recieved one along with a game called "dance dance revolution". Although Elise hasn't played it very much in favor of riding her bicycle, I have (no surprise) been utilizing it as much as possible although even I am too lazy to do it in favor of maybe having a pint of good beer. Similarly another peripheral gadget slated for release soon will be a balance board and mini-game bundle called Wii-fit. The cost of this will be around $80 dollars for both game and battery operated touch sensitive board. It is basically an $80 bathroom scale, but the concept seems really fun. The game software bundled with the board will include daily body mass index functions (heighy/weight ratio), as well as weight distribution tracking (right and left foot placement for viewing on the television where your weight naturally falls.) A personal training program also supposedly will be able to allow the user to do stretching, yoga, and practice executing various traditional exercises like push-ups and lunges correctly. There is also a skiing game which looks alright too. I've already mastered the Wii sports game that comes originally with the Wii, and my skill level on the tennis game was off the chart for a month or so back in february. The weather is better now, so it's probably time to actually get out and play some real tennis or baseball because as you know resistance is actually what really facilitates muscle growth.
What about you guys? We already know about the boat, and the hedge trimers and bush hogs, but I feel maybe it's time for investment for in-house technologies? Maybe a small but thin LCD television fall within the price range of a tax-rebate check. They may use less energy than a CRT cathode ray tube tv, but I can't be certain (I know that LCD computer monitors use less than CRT ones for sure). Dad may surely benefit from replacing his computer monitor with a flat screen LCD. At their brightest settings, they are much easier on the eyes than a glaring glass tube light monitor! Once finding the right purchase, recycle the old one after too of course.
Well I'm already over-stimulated talking about this stuff, so I'll just say that it's all so wonderfully engineered to be mind-numbingly beneficial but also grossly expensive and counter-productive. We would all benefit from just NOT having televisions and/or computers, but honestly I think my head would implode (do I mean instead of exploding? I don't know but I need to be able to log on to the internet in order to find the scientific article which would potentially detail the phenomena).
So after getting the reply today, I might have to follow my own advice and just exercise by myself instead of with the aid of a Japanese import. But what will I do on all those cold chicago winter nights?
Posts
