What's Inside?

I think working two jobs might be affecting my sanity. It definitely is distorting my organization faculties. I’ve been carrying a lot of things around with me lately....
I have in my purse today:
1—Wallet containing various charge cards, business cards, ID cards and about thirty-three bucks.
2—One small black umbrella
1—Strawberry Chapstick
2—footie Nylons (used)
1—Spoon (unused)
7—Parliament Lights
3—Match books
½--An Oatmeal Raisin Cookie (possibly less than a half. It’s been in there for a while, it may have eroded a bit)
1—Cell phone
124 cents (no ma’am. Not a dollar twenty-four.)
1—Packet of clean and clear oil papers (do they absorb beer and hot butter too?)
2—Jewel Osco Reciepts (I’ve been to the grocery store?)
3—Aspirin and one generic advil in a broken Tic Tac Box
Keys
What’s in yours?

On A Lighter Note

. . . I really was sort of just thinking out loud, and I'll edit that (maybe) later.

Anyway, for a bit of comic relief, check out this (unsuitable for TV audiences) MasterCard commercial spoof. Hilarious.

just thinking out loud.

Is it just me, or does it seem like they say “Pakistani” far too many times during any given blurb about this “thwarted plot”? why does it matter from which country they hail? The only thing that the over use of the phrase “Pakistani muslims” serves to do is feed peoples’ knee jerk prejudice. . . now it’s not going to be “oh my god it was arabs”, but it’s going to be “oh my god it was Pakistanis”. . . I’m not saying it’s being done on purpose, but it certainly seems excessive.

I can’t seem to focus on any one specific point of this whole fiasco/scandal/alert/whatever. For instance, I’m concerned that so many people are saying the words “I’m glad the government is doing what they can to keep us safe” in response to interviews about the surrender of all liquids and gels before boarding the airplane. First of all, I think there’s so many things wrong with this. This series of arrests was not a sudden thing. It’s not like a traffic stop…(and if it is, we have other problems), but a long investigation that is just starting to reach a crest—not even a conclusion. So why, all of a sudden, are we throwing out chapstick today in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and anxiously looking out for Pakistanis with Gatorade? There are so many better ways to have done all of this—It almost seems as though there is a bit of intentional fueling of chaos.

Why wasn’t the TSA prepared for this sting, and the resulting new measures? There shouldn’t have been a single delayed flight. The only people that should have missed their travel plans are those reluctant to dispose of their cosmetics, contact cases, and Starbucks drinks. Everything else could have been prepared for and smoothly moving—If it’s even necessary in the first place.

Everybody's working for the. . . .

...weekend? Really?

I've just gone over the cusp of 60 days at Awesome Building Company, and had the joy of mounds of benefits paperwork. The bit that I’ve brought with me as homework is the Pension/Retirement/401k/Investment plan. There's this huge workbook designed to help you outline your goals for RETIREMENT, and choose investments accordingly. Now, I suppose working on a daily basis can be boiled down to a race for 65, but I have a bit of difficulty visualizing that target. Hypothetical portfolios, tax-deferred interest compounding, and the prospect of ever being 59 ½ years old (the age when you can even apply to possibly see any of the dollabillz) are so incredibly far from the realm of my day to day concerns.

So, when the questionnaire asks, “Would you say that. . .” I have difficulty marking a, b, or c because the words “Bearing some short-term decline in value in an effort to achieve blahblahblahbidyblah risk assets.” Have NEVER crossed my lips. My whiny, what’s-my-life-all-about single, quarterlife catlady mentality is definitely struggling with this process. I struggle with making a grocery list (beer, tortillas, chocolate chips, shaving cream and cumin?)---much less lists of what sort of part time jobs I’d like to have when I'm 64. I’m gonna start small:

Things I’d like to buy, when/if I have
the money:

• A mattress that doesn’t induce debilitating back pain.
• Plane tickets to visit family and friends on both coasts and places in between, like: Gotham City, Second City (that one probably doesn’t require airtravel), Tinseltown, The Wrong Turn City , and Our Nation’s Capital.
• A couch that has nothing to do with any kind of Mart, K-, Wal-, or otherwise. I’m with Dustin on this one.
• Fancy-schmancy cable to avoid Saturday mornings filled with "New Home Builders’ Showcase" or: "McMansion Parade".
• A personal Chef, Maid, Chauffer, Sex Slave, and of course, Gigantic Fortune.

Whatta you think? Are these sufficient starting blocks?