Being Dumb and Knowing Better

I'm not entirely sure which part of my brain won some crazy brain ro-sham-bo contest to get dibs overruling rational decision making to just do moronic shit like all the time.

For example, walking up stairs and deciding to take a drink at the same time. (Wet and almost dead.) Or setting my brand new laptop down precariously balanced on my sofa's arm before running to answer the door. (It turned on again.)

And it's not even that I don't recognize the stupidity of these ideas as the come up. More often than not I fully call the disaster that is about to occur...and proceed to do it anyway! What, like this time logic is just going to give me a pass?

Sometimes I wonder if these are self-destructive tendencies buried down in my subconscious. I prefer to think I'm just optimistic.

The Almond in the iPod: A Test of Will Power

The almonded iPod.

Today I discovered a piece of almond stuck in the headphone jack of my iPod. Overlooking the sheer physics involved with this accomplishment and the completely obvious fact that my purses are due for a serious cleaning, my first thought was, "Perfect, I can get a new one!"

Only, I can't. I'm currently determined to not spend (except for eating out and hitting up the movies, I'm not becoming a nun or anything). It's simply that I am now 30 years old...yep, eye still twitches when I think about that...and it is time to stop spending like a big windfall is just around the corner.

It's a way of thinking I learned from my mother. In almost all ways, she's my favorite person on the planet. However, she also taught me the lesson that, for every crap day in life and major letdown there's something to buy. Not the most financially healthy way to go through
life.

It's gotten to the point that I buy stuff to replace any weakness, any disappointment, any moment of loneliness, and any fear about the future. But that also leads to buying for any whim and leaving the how-to-pay-the-bill quandry for a time that is later.

So, in an effort to tone down this ill-advised habit and possibly build healthier emotional outlets for my life, I'm on this little pay off debt/learn to live within my means kick. It's hard as hell and I don't like it much.

And now I have a damn almond jammed in my iPod.