baggage's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cheap Lunches and A Foggy Future I am subjecting myself to a grand experiment. Well-maybe not so grand to you. But, in my world, grand is not reserved for the most momentous of moments. I'm rather liberal with grandness-so to speak-and will not hesitate to use it even for the insignificant and downright silly. In this case: lunch. You see, everyday, I go out to lunch. Everyday, I dish out X amount of dollars for the culinary pleasure of dining at whatever restaurant my friends and I deem to be appropriate for the afternoon. And, well, as of late, these noontime excursions have been getting a tad pricey. We're not talking the $6 pricey of a Rubios or a Wahoo's Fish Tacos. We're talking the $14-$15 pricey of the perfectly scrumptious Italian place we indulged in last week. And, well, this week, I'm putting my feet, err...my wallet, down. This just is so not happening people. Although none of us are financially strapped-I'm beginning to feel a tad too elegant in this skin. Like some sort of wanna-be-upper-social-class movershaker kind of dude sitting in the lap of luxury-the kind of person that epitomizes this large, yet comfy seaside town I grow my career in. This, just for clarification, is so not me. I'm a cheap mofo. I bought a house when the market was at rockbottom, I put away 15 percent into my IRA (before taxes), I eat tons of rice, and rarely, do I ever buy the trendiest of clothes. In fact, the trendy outfit currently gracing my skin came to me courtesy of my co-worker (and also the owner of my favorite *Its'-too-damn-late-to-go-home-can-I-please-crash-at-your-pad-tonight* sofa) Brian; a man who seems to have taken an unhealthy interest in my coolness. *Dude, those dockers, man, they're so not rock star enough,* I still hear him whispering lovingly in my face. Anyway, back to the grand experiment. All week long-I will attempt to spend no more than $3 per day on lunch. You should hear my friends. Impossible. No way. You'll be hungry by the 3:30 meeting. Maybe so. But, I want, no, I need to, give this a try. For me, for my friends, and for my wallet. The results thus far: Monday's lunch was spent devouring a perfectly acceptable 99 cent Big Mac and a glass of water. Grand total? $1.06. Yesterday's lunch was spent eating leftover fowl from Sunday's Easter Barbeque. Grand total? Free-my sister-in-law-if-girl-unit-and-I-were-to-be-married paid for it. Today? A 99 cent spicy chicken sandwich from Carl's Jr. Grand total $2.50 (I indulged in some fried zuchinni). The rest of the week remains nebulous-but I am confident of my success. There are other things to spend money on, ya know. And besides, with the economy sucking and all, rumours of downsizing are everywhere. I am a tad worried-although I feel relatively comfortable with my financial situation. It has taken some time-but the credit cards (including girl-unit's) are now paid off (as of last week anyway-that tax return came in handy). The computer, my guitars, the truck, the car, the furniture...all cleared off the debt list. And, per the instructions of Money magazine, I think I have enough green in my savings account to cover up to 8 months living expenses. Sigh. Now, we just sit and wait. People at my work are worried. Some of these folks have been here a long time-and, I suppose they've taken for granted the stability that this place has offered in the past. But, for me, and I believe most everyone else who graduated from college in the early 90s, job stability has always been more concept than reality. Seems that every job I've ever enjoyed has had a black cloud of recession lingering directly above. And every job I've ever had also includes the stereotypical long-timer-the one leaning on my cubicle wall sharing *glory days* stories about a healthy economy and stable jobs. I don't what annoys me more: the fact that it seems I was born 10 years too late to enjoy truly golden economic times, or these folks who have nothing better to do than long for the good ol' days when 3-hour lunches, job stability, and high salaries were the norm. They don't understand: A lot of people my age and younger have never had true job stability. The idea seems foerign. That's why we move around from company to company so much. The days of building a lifelong career with only one comnpany are long gone. Unfortunately. I like the idea of staying with one job for the majority of a lifetime. I envy those who put down professional as well as emotional roots when it comes to their careers. Seems to me they're lucky. So, for now, everyone here awaits the word-any word-that clarifies their professional future. No doubt, some have grand backup plans-something they can do in case they loose their weekly paycheck. Plans a little more grand than eating 99 cent lunches most likely. 5:15 p.m. - 2001-04-18 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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