Now I’m not Catholic or even Christian but since my first year in college I have always tried to give up something during Lent. The idea was inspired by my friend Lingling and we’ve done our Lent thing separately but with each other’s support. Two years ago was soda (SUCCESS!) and last year was caffeinated drinks (also SUCCESS!). In response to our finaciapocalypse, this year I am cutting back on $PENDING.
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Now I know I said that I have a stable job and would be spending money to do my bit to help the economy. I’m not reneging on that – I am going to be spending more wisely and not spending money that I don’t have. To do that, I am going to cut out all extraneous expenses – eating out, coffee, liquor, shopping, the works – and limit myself to a specific budget for special events. I have already identified my spending targets and my spending budget from now until Easter. For everything else, unless it’s a dire emergency, I will not break out my wallet at all. Here’s what I have budgeted for spending:
Sophia’s birthday (this Friday!) – $20
Dine around Seattle w/Angela (March) – $20
Trip to London (spring break) – £700 or $1000 (incl. airfare)
For everything else and everyone that I will be sure to disappoint, I’m sorry – we’ll have to wait until April.
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Why am I doing this? Because I spend too much. I need to get into the habit of making my own coffee and bringing my own food to work. Sure, the spending will probably rebound once Easter is over, but I hope that I can spend a little less frivolously and to save myself up a little money to buffer against any monetary emergency. And in this economy, it’s good to save some for a rainy day. Wish me luck!
I don’t know, but it sure isn’t the Democrats or the Republicans. Today we hear Obama talking up hope of a new direction for the country and Jindal rebutting against “irresponsible” spending. But one thing is missing, neither is willing to punish those responsible. They want to prop up the system – all but conveniently forgetting that there is a lesson to be learned in the crisis.
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The Democrats want to literally keep printing money until the problem is resolved; meanwhile, the Republicans, with their newfound fiscal responsibility, want to return money to (selected) people. The Democrats want to keep borrowing and borrowing and spending and spending to salvage the economy; the Republicans want to let the free market takeover to adjust and correct the mistake. If these sound like some of the root causes of the economic meltdown in the first place, BINGO!
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The Democrats’ policy of deficit spending mirrors the American way of life. American people keeps borrowing and spending beyond their means – subprime mortgages with zero down, option ARMs, credit cards. And now the Democrats are pushing the national debt over $10 trillion and spending nearly $1.5 trillion to bail out banks and the economy. Although the plan will generate new jobs and help out distressed families, the price tag is staggering. In effect, the bailout plan is perpetrating wrong fiscal practice – and telling people that it is okay to spend without a though because the government got your back. This is NOT the message that the government should be preaching – instead, they should teach people to spend more wisely and save money.
Slumdog Millionaire, directed by Danny Boyle, is a shoo-in for Best Picture tonight
Today is the last Sunday of February. Like clockwork, actors, directors, among others who work in the film industry migrates to Los Angeles for the night. Like years past, these creatures migrate up a stream of red carpet amid blinding flashes from the cameras of their natural symbiotes – the paparazzis. The females put on their best display – showing colors and styles as varied as the rest of Mother Nature. The most successful displays will attract many camera flashes; while others with distasteful displays will be ridiculed and crowned “worst dressed”. Inside the cavernous chamber, the actors, actresses, directors, and others will gather in front of a stage. The stage – usually dominated by an alpha-male that cracks not-so-funny jokes – is a rite of passage for some. Only a select few will make this final trek up to this stage and will be rewarded with a golden statuette – a replica of the large monolith that loomed in the background of the stage. Many others will simply observe and clap, as they witness their fellow creatures making the final trek…
It is the time for the Academy Awards. While I may not have the messianic code of Stephen Colbert or the statistics (and fancy software) of Nate Silver, I have my own predictions for the Oscars based on my intuition. Read on for more.
After a few weeks of dodging any signs of possible danger, I am glad to say that I (will) be having health insurance once again. Great big thanks to my PI for switching me to a monthly salaried position as opposed to an hourly academic student employee. Not only will I be getting health insurance, I am also going to be getting a very slight raise, vacation days and holidays, and other benefits endowed to a monthly-salaried research scientist. But I didn’t get them without a fight, read on.
… when everything game you want is consistently sold out. This is how long I’ve waited for some game that I own (or will own):
Wii console – 4 months (that’s two years after its release)
Wii fit – 0 months (I pre-ordered on Amazon, and good thing too)
Mario Kart Wii – 2 months (3 months after release)
Rock Band – 1 week and counting (7 months after release)
That’s six months of waiting and sweeping local and online electronics stores not including the many months that’s gone by since the release of the games.
I’m okay with the “production ramp-up problem” excuse Nintendo has been pushing out instead of the actual console itself; but I’d expect the game developers to know better. You have the sales numbers of the consoles – you can calculate the expected demand (now, multiply 45 million by whatever percentage you think is appropriate) – and plan your production accordingly. Stop the excuses, start meeting demands or I will take my money elsewhere.
After a lot of political wrangling and a few delays and controversies, the plan is finally here. The plan, of course, is for the replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. The plan calls for a deep-bore tunnel with a combination of surface street replacement for Alaskan Way. The price tag for the plan is going to be a little over twice the price that JPMorgan Chase paid for the WaMu firesale. Is the plan worth it?
Yes it is already 10 days into the new year but that still doesn’t mean I can’t do a year-in-review post. This time the topic is travel. I traveled a surprising amount this past year, spanning coast-to-coast in U.S. and across the Pacific Ocean. I’ve traveled to and, in transit, visited 10 states (CA, OH, DC, MD, DE, PA, NJ, NY, CT, MA) and four countries (China, South Korea, Japan, and Canada). Check out the travel map above on my journey. Hit the jump for more.
More than half of my credit card bill goes through my digestive system
Updated: Now with the months of September thru December!
I’ve been crunching the numbers from my credit card bills and this is what I have so far. The largest chunk goes to food (39.1%), which includes eating out, barhopping, and groceries. The next biggest slice goes to shopping (35.6%). A bit shocking to me is that coffee accounts for nearly 20% 15% of by CC bills. Counting only the months of January thru March and May thru August every month of 2008 but April, I have spent over $2500 $3100 with the plastic. Hit the jump for more numbers.
Now I’m not Catholic or even Christian but since my first year in college I have always tried to give up something during Lent. The idea was inspired by my friend Lingling and we’ve done our Lent thing separately but with each other’s support. Two years ago was soda (SUCCESS!) and last year was caffeinated drinks (also SUCCESS!). In response to our finaciapocalypse, this year I am cutting back on $PENDING.
I don’t know, but it sure isn’t the Democrats or the Republicans. Today we hear Obama 
