28 September << 2001 >> 5 October

2 October, 2001

  * ==================================================================== *
  * ATTENTION!!!  ATTENTION!!!  ATTENTION!!!  ATTENTION!!!  ATTENTION!!! *
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  *   This system will go off-line indefinately on or before 29,         *
  *   October, 2001.                                                     *
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  *   If you would like your address@dannyland.org to forward            *
  *   somewhere, e-mail dannyman@toldme.com.                             *
  *                                                                      *
  *   Sorry about this, folks.  But, you know, this wacky economy ...    *
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  * ATTENTION!!!  ATTENTION!!!  ATTENTION!!!  ATTENTION!!!  ATTENTION!!! *
  * ==================================================================== *

I heard from the Insurance Company today. The body shop had pried some stuff out of the oil pan, only to find the engine block cracked. So, Debra told me that she had bad news, that my car was totalled. I said that, actually, given my current financial situation, that's good news. While I love the car, the monthly payments are a serious albatross hanging on the financial burden of one who is unemployed.

Things I'm going to buy when I get a job:

• A new pair of gym shoes.
• Cargo shorts.
• Pants.
• Several drinks for Moshen, and Angel.
• Dinner for all my girlfriends.
• A good, sturdy, cheap, used car.

So, actually, without an apartment, and without a car, that means I have a monthly alotment of $460 to buy groceries, drinks, Caltrain tickets, and pay off credit cards with. Well, I should get a forebearance on my school loans.

Yeah, I'm out of the apartment on the 29th. Which is kind of sad, because I really like the place. It hasn't been rented out yet, so if I got a job, I could stay for $330 less than what I'm paying now. If I got a roommate to rent the use of Jim's furniture, I could get along for $800 / month plus utilities. That's still pretty steep. Though, Adam said he found a two bedroom house just over the Dunbarton Bridge in fremont for $750 - at $325, one could live, in the Bay Area, on unemployment.

Feh.

Grapes of eCommerce

Today, I stood in line at the Post Office. I had about sixty-five cents in my pocket, and I needed to buy a single stamp to send off my unemployment check. The machines at my PO don't sell single stamps.

When you have plenty of green, the Supermarket is a place of boundless opportunity. When you have a tight budget, it is far more interesting, because then you have to think about what you buy and don't buy. For example, I wanted some cereal. Cold? Too much! Instant oatmeal? Better ... but I got a big thing of oats for pretty cheap. You nuke that in the microwave, slice up a peach, one of three that you could afford, and mix it in the oatmeal and it is just totally yummy. And filling. Betwen eggs, toast, oatmeal, and peaches, and a can of soup and my last four saltines, I can hold out 'til the money transfer from Benjy is done, or until the unemployment check makes it through.

But, I also have a healthy selection of grape juice, orange juice, and milk to whet my palette. Plus, Jessica's got some work hostessing at a friend's restaurant over on Castro Street. She tends to bring back food from said restaurant, share it with me, and then crash on one of my futons.

Applied for three positions at Berkeley yesterday. Let's see ...

28 September << 2001 >> 5 October
/journal
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