A List
There are many days where I prefer lists and spreadsheets over cohesively themed paragraphs. Today is one of those days!
- Thanks to a bit of extra income, my credit card balance is $0 and I bought a used 22 string harp! I don’t officially know how to play it, but I’ve figured out how to put together a simple melody. So far it is much easier than guitar since the strings can’t change notes!
- There’s a little badge thingy on the left-hand side of the page that says I’ve lost 21lbs. It rounds – I’ve really only lost 20.5lbs. MyFitnessPal.com has been a big help!
- My apartment is a disaster. It’s difficult for me to figure out how much of it is my fault and how much is the result of living with two guys. I’m pretty sure I was the last person to do dishes…
- I’m still having a LOT of fun with SCA. There’s a big event next Saturday – Stellar University of Northshield. I’m particularly looking forward to the English Country Dancing and How To Develop a Persona classes.
- I signed up to take Interpersonal Communication in the spring, since it’s a required class. I find it terribly amusing that they offer an online version, so I signed up for that one. I haven’t decided if I am going to take a second class or not. I don’t want school to suck up all my free time, but I also don’t want to be taking classes forever.
The Long Trend
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about trends. It’s partly because I’m in an economics class, sure, but it applies to so many things. Eating poorly for one day does not make you unhealthy. Likewise, eating all your fruits and veggies for one day doesn’t make you healthy. The same type of thing holds true for finances. And for relationships. And for personal hygiene and general cleanliness. And for smartness, compassion, open-mindedness, and intelligence. Who I am tomorrow is highly dependent on my long term trends, on how I do things +80% of the time.
Yesterday I posted the following on Facebook:
Does the thing you want today move you closer to, or farther from, the life you want tomorrow?
‘The thing’ I want today does not have to be a material object. It could simply be that I want to sit on my couch, watch TV, and relax, or spend all my extra money on entertainment and restaurant food. There’s nothing wrong with either of those things, but when they become a trend I have to ask myself if I like the direction I’m headed. So, it would be good for me to ask myself the question more frequently. I certainly have a few trends that could use improvement or fine tuning.
My Shampoo is Not Important
I got my hair trimmed last week. I’m not usually big on making small-talk with the stylist, and my trim was no exception. But, there’s the inevitable sales pitch near the end of the cut. ‘If you want, I could add some lowlights that would look great on you.’ and ‘We’ve got some nice shampoos on sale this week.’ I’m fine with brushing off add-on sales, but then the stylist decided to ask what kind of shampoo I use. I informed her that I often use generic shampoo, or whatever is cheap.
That answer didn’t go over very well with her.
She proceeded to ask me if I would buy a house that had a bad foundation and a leaky roof, as if to suggest that my shampoo brand has the same vital importance as the structural integrity of my home. I was so stunned I really didn’t answer her. I’m still rather baffled by the comparison. My shampoo is just not important.
Old enough to have regrets.
Do you think there’s a specific age where you are finally wise enough to look back on your mistakes with an open and accepting mind? I don’t have many regrets, but there have been times in my life where I focused on things that didn’t really matter, and ignored things that should have been important. I sort of wonder if I’ll ever get to a place where I’ll look back and be content with the path that led me to ‘now’.
I think my husband has been going through something like this, though much more intensely. It doesn’t help that he recently got a bad report on his health – he has high blood pressure. He’s only 32 years old, but he’s now on blood pressure medication. For me, many of my regrets are financial follies, some are things I still repeat over and over. I sure wish it was easier to change bad habits and truly learn from mistakes.
Research Topic
I’m about half way through my Information Literacy course and it’s just about time to choose a research topic for my big project. I always hate having to choose a topic to study. It’s difficult to decide on something that I want to learn about in depth. I am curious about a lot of things, but I’m not necessarily excited to spend a lot of time on one thing. Maybe I’ve just become too used to the vague awarenesses that I collect. Is that a feature of our generation? Or is it a feature of my personality? If I feel I know how to acquire additional information on a topic, I often won’t. I could do it in the future if I wanted to, so there’s no need to do it now, right?
So yeah, I have to actually pick something and delve deep for once. I’m contemplating doing something on minimum wage laws. It’s a very contentious issue though slightly less so now, since there was an increase not long ago. I do have to wonder, in this economy, how much pain has the new minimum wage caused? Is it partly to blame for the job losses and underemployed worker levels? Combined with the poor lending climate, can small businesses really afford to keep their staff level steady? If a full time person quits or retires, are they more likely to only hire a part time replacement?
One problem I see with the minimum wage law is that is makes certain wages sound like less. Before the increase went into effect $8.50/hr didn’t sound too terrible as an entry level retail wage. It was several dollars above the minimum! Now, it’s not even $2 above the minimum. I know, it sounds like a silly argument in the grand scheme, but perception and ‘consumer confidence’ has a real effect on the way people operate. There are also a lot of arguments about how higher minimums price low skill workers out of the workforce. If a business is forced to pay $7.25/hr for a worker, they will probably look for a person they feel is worth that investment. Thus the increased minimum sometimes hurts the exact people it is most intended to help.
It does seem like it might be an interesting subject. We shall see.
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