Tuesday, Dec. 03, 2002
Mint Juleps and needles don't add up to wisdom, posted at 6:12 p.m.
Epiphany in Baltimore has moved to epiphanyinbaltimore.blogspot.com The guy who set up my 401B came in for my annual report today. The subject of course turned to my finances, and I told him I was considering cancelling out on the plan to get through my current financial woes. I finally feel like I'm getting the debt monkey off my back, but still have a lot to do. He told me I could borrow off my 401, which I might do at 1.5% interest. We'll see.He told me I've got to do something about it, because just in talking with me for twenty minutes, he could tell it was frustrating me and eating away at my insides. I would have to agree. Thinking about my debt, or about credit card companies that give 19-year olds with no income a $5,000 credit limit, just makes me want to do things like punch walls or just give up. The idea of bancruptcy is still in the back of my head, but I don't understand the repercussions fully so I'm not sure. I just know that I'm paying and paying and nothing seems to be decreasing.
Ugh.
One thing he told me that unfortunately did make me feel better was that there were a lot of people in a worse position than I am.
Tonight should be a good night. It's Boston Betty's birthday, and I offered to take her out to dinner because her husband is working until 10pm. I'm awaiting her call, and looking forward to it. What a great person she is - one of the best friends I've made here, and she's nearly my mom's age. Then, it's back home for a night of 24. I missed last week while driving Holden down to Alexandria, and am anxious to catch back up on the show. In USA Today today, which I read on the eliptical machine at the gym, it said that David Palmer's wife - a Lady MacBeth for the modern ages - is coming back. She's a great character, and I can't wait to see what she's been up to. I just spent some time over on the Television Without Pity site to try to catch up on what I missed last week, and was shocked to see the level of obsession with some of the show's fans. And I thought I was obsessive... oy.
At least now I know that Elisha Cuthbert is 20, and I can ogle her without feeling guilty.
I had a very good day teaching today. I was well-prepared, which always makes a big difference. I was over-prepared, in fact, and now I have definite lesson plans for tomorrow and a plan mapped out for the next five class days. I will be doing August Wilson's Fences after finishing up To Kill a Mockingbird, then it is up, up, and away with Their Eyes Were Watching God. Since that's my favorite book, I'm especially looking forward to getting back into that.
The school and the city are abuzz with reports that there will be a snowstorm Wednesday afternoon that will dump 2-4 inches of snow in the area by Thursday morning. Snow day! Snow day! Snow day! I would love it. I've still never had a snow day in my entire teaching career, even during my internship. Here, it seems like even a tiny amount of snow will cause the cancellation of school. Back home in Michigan, it seemed that students would have to be pulling each other on a rope through a blizzard before they even considered cancelling. I have a feeling I'm going to be deeply amused when I finally do see some snowfall in this city. Last year's wimpy winter (one snowfall, gone within a day) told me nothing.
Over and out.