Leelanau Whippersnapper

OK, so I will be the first to admit that being single with a full time, well paying job has distinct advantages. I’ll also be the first to say that my bills could be MUCH lower than they are. I have (and likely always will) live well beyond my means. That said, I’ve come a long way in learning how to manage my cash flow. Granted, I still get nailed sometimes with expenses that I’ve not planed for but for the most part, I’ve finally arrived to that point where I’m not running to Mom and Dad every other week for a loan like I was years ago (but thank God they still have the willingness to bail me out once in a while). It’s amazing how much better you can feel about life when you actually have a few months of standard expenses in the bank as a buffer and you aren’t living paycheck to paycheck. This is the only time of year I can enjoy that…I hope that since I am no longer required to share my “wealth” with anyone else, I can maintain that buffer for quite a while now.

That said, I am a tech geek in many ways. I always have to have the latest toys. Jirar told me the other day that he was planning on taking back his iPod. I have grown pretty fond of the little mp3 player since my entire music collection is now in digital form. I don’t have much use for a CD player any more. Well, it is his iPod and it would have been hard for me to just say no so I went out and decided to just buy my own. I looked at a few options and it was a toss up between the 80gig iPod classic which would have been large enough to hold my 20gig music collection as well as video and podcasts -OR- the 8gb iPod Touch which is the latest and greatest thing from Apple with an awesome touch screen, WiFi enabled so I can get on the internet anywhere there is an access point (important now that I’ll be moving into town) and LOTS of other toys that are just fun. The biggest drawback however was that it is 10 times smaller in capacity. There was really no significant price difference between the 2, only a HUGE size difference. The iPod Classic would hold 10 times the number of mp3’s that the iPod Touch would.

Well, I decided to go with the iPod Touch. At best, and at any given time, I only listen to around 2-3gb worth of my mp3 files (about 150 songs). My taste in music fluctuates and these things are accommodating enough that I can just rotate my music collection as my taste evolves and changes. And now I can sit in my living room and watch YouTube videos on my iPod.

This thing also comes as a phone but you have to have AT&T as your provider right now and I can not justify switching cell phone providers, especially after I just got a new cell phone too!

Anyhow, I think my recent spending spree is pretty much over now. The last thing I need to do is get Gavin updated on his shots at the vet but selling off my firewood to Uncle Lou will pay for that. The only other thing I have to invest in now is half the fee of a storage unit that Jirar and I will be sharing starting in July. Beyond that, I’m pretty well up to date for the year.

Writing should be picking up a little although I am going into a stretch now of 3 weeks in a row without a weekend off. My assistant is having surgery so in order to keep things going I’ve had to pick up some slack. Lucky for me, she will be paying me back later this summer by working several days for me so I can have a break (even though she doesn’t know it now). Cheers for now!