I like how the new Mission Impossible movie uses iPhones and iPads. A long way from using cassette players.
January Recap
This was a strange month. I’ll start with the big thing that happened, which was that I got mugged. I didn’t give much detail about it at first because I was with other people when it happened, and I wanted to keep things private. But since then it seems that everyone we know found out the whole story anyway, so I don’t think there’s harm in saying it here. The part I left out was that I didn’t just get mugged personally, but the poker game I was at got robbed. Three black guys with ski masks and guns stormed in and told us to get on the ground, and they took all our money and valuables. I got pretty shook up after that, but I have a new phone, new wallet, all of my important cards, and soon a new watch. So things are mostly back to normal, but I won’t have that poker game to go to anymore.
All month our bathroom has been getting remodeled, so I was without a shower for a couple weeks which was really gross. We have a shower now, but they’re still working on the rest of the bathroom so I have to wait until they’re done for the day before I can shower. I’ll be really relieved when they’re all done and I won’t have them disturbing my sleep and keeping me from a shower.
Work was pretty slow this month, although there were a few days that were pretty good. I made $1,400 which was one of my worst months, and I had some bad weeks where I worked just one day. However, I made almost $900 at poker this month which has got to be my best month of poker probably ever. So poker was a big supplement to my income this month, and I hope to try and keep that going the best I can.
One Year Ago Today
I did my January recap for last year, and I said that it was an uneventful month. That is a stark contrast to the January of this year because a lot went on (or at least one big thing). I talked a lot about money, and it brought up something I’ve been meaning to talk about. Last year at this time I was watching every dollar I spent. I never ate out and I didn’t buy virtually any food for myself but ate whatever I could find in the house. That meant that on some days when I couldn’t find anything I just ate crackers or whatever. I was really careful about my money because mostly I just didn’t have any. My only “jobs” were cleaning the church (for $30 a week), shoveling at the church (for $10 an hour), and playing poker (which varied greatly and the money stayed in my account). I was saving up for my impending move to California, but looking back I’m glad I was responsible about the little money I had.
So this year there is a very noticeable change in how I spend money. I actually have a job now, but I’ve also been making some steady money at poker which has been fantastic. I still have no living costs because I’m at home, but I buy almost all of my own food and drink. Rent and toilet paper are really the only things I don’t pay for these days, so I’m slowly working toward being self-sufficient. But now that I have a job I don’t feel like I have to watch every dollar I spend. I allow myself to buy some music, movies, games, and whatnot now whereas last year I went without any of that. I know that soon I’ll have rent to pay for, and student loans that are very high, but right now I’m in a very comfortable position. My net worth is just around $6,000 which isn’t a lot, but at this time last year I was at maybe $2,000. Work will pick up again soon, and if I can keep poker going like it has it should be even better for me. I’ve lost one good weekly game, but since I’ve started going to Foxwoods I think I can make some good money there.
My Day
I thought about getting up right at noon to clean the church, but when I hear those guys working on the bathroom I just don’t feel like getting up. So I kept sleeping for another couple hours and abandoned the idea of cleaning the church. I showered when the guys left and hung out before going to dinner with my mom.
I met her at her work and then we drove to the mall first to get my new watch. But they didn’t have it so I guess I’ll have to order it online and wait even longer. After that we went to Asian Bistro for dinner, and I got two sushi rolls and some shrimp sashimi. It was delicious, but I think I’ll go for three sushi rolls next time because they’re only like $8 each. Then we saw Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, and it was pretty good. It was entertaining throughout, and it didn’t seem unrealistic enough to make it less enjoyable. Paula Patton is really pretty, and I don’t remember seeing her in any movies before this. So I enjoyed the movie and had a good night.
When I got back home I watched Portlandia and then some Malcolm, then took a shower again. I have to get up at noon tomorrow because I have a dentist appointment, so I’ll get to see how good my work insurance is. I’ll get to cleaning the church later this week. Thanks for reading, and “How often do you cut your toenails?”
—Eric Del Medico
