Friggin' Wawa

I am often at the check out at the local Wawa… purchasing a sandwich… or Coffee... or maybe fruit and cottage cheese for breakfast….whatever.

And I tell the checkout person, “No thank you. I don’t need a bag”.

Now, I admit that sometimes these Wawa worker folks are just to fast for me and they get the bag all ready before I say my standard phrase.

Here’s the kicker. When I tell them that I don’t need the bag they have prepared, they THROW THE BAG AWAY! It boggles my mind!

All this talk about being friendly to the earth, reducing, reusing, recycling… blah blah blah… it’s literally everywhere you turn these days. Do I really need to explain that I wish them to use the bag I have forgone for the next customer? It seems obvious to me that when I say “No thank you. I don’t need a bag”, it does not mean “oh yes and by the way just throw it in the trash and waste it anyway!”

Is it not clear that I am trying to do my part by not wasting plastic bags when I can just as easily carry my purchases in my own personal reusable bag? The worst part is that this KEEPs happening. What's the point of trying if we're not all on the same accord?


I’m seriously blown right now.

I dont really "get"...

...why MC Hammer has a blog.
Just sayin.

The latest thing...

...for me is a recent obsession with personal finance. Well it isn’t so recent. I’ve always liked the topic. But I think that it has become a bigger interest as of late. So… don’t be annoyed with the growing list of finance-y links on the side when I find things of interest.

I find personal blogs the most interesting because they chronicle individuals like me who are trying to figure the whole thing out. There are some good ones that I've linked too on the side.

To highlight other good sites, check out Mint to organize your bills, finances, and budgets for free, and check out Credit Karma to get an idea of were your FICO score stands for free. Credit Karma is only going to show you one score and since there are actually 3 that creditors can look at to make decisions about offering you loans, you are really better off knowing all three before big purchase. Still it gives you a decent idea of where you are without having to come out of pocket for it.


Save your money.
Live within your means.

ok?

Xo.

Hope

VOTE!

If you haven’t already voted, please do. People gave their lives so that we could ALL have an opportunity to vote. Whether or not you believe that your vote counts doesn’t matter. Drop the selfishness and realize that you have an obligation to vote. It is your debt repayment. And it is really that simple.

Simple

I find that I am quite ridged in my thinking. At times I am completely obsessed with the way things are supposed to be. Wear the right clothes. Save the right amount of money. Buy the right house. Piece together the right kind of solid, structured American family. Don’t drink that. Don’t eat that. Go to bed early and don’t waste time.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about living simply. About what we really NEED in order to survive and what we just kind of like to have along for the ride. I’ve been thinking about “right” and “wrong” with respect to what we should want for our lives and what we should strive for. I search for a way to break away from these very certain molds that I have built for myself. To live freely and simply, and maybe even slowly, is something that I seem to never master.

The concept sounds childish -- to live a life that is slightly lacking in boundary and that allows time for simple and free living. But in all honesty, aside from a need to learn a bit more responsibility, do children really have it so wrong? Why are we so stuffy when adulthood sets in? Is it stress that makes us this way? And if so, why do we allow ourselves to become so bogged down with things that if could be tangibly measured, would not be worth the effort?

For most, the notion that “we cant take it with us” kind of slips from our grasp as we graduate from mandatory secondary education and look at our so called options. We are told that the only way to make this life work is to go on to study at a university and then some… and though I don’t regret any of my education, I’m completely puzzled by the fact that we go into so much debt to live these lives. Is it possible to live a fulfilling life with no stress? School begat debt begat endless working… living like our neighbor begat debt begat endless working... without school, our neighbor's influence and debt, would there be less work?

Or maybe the work being done would be of the save the world sort instead of the save ourselves from drowning in debt sort...

Much Love, Much Solidarity

A beautiful read.
http://happybirthdayassata.org/letter.html

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Solidarity:

sol·i·dar·i·ty [sol-i-dar-i-tee]
–noun, plural -ties.

1. union or fellowship arising from common responsibilities and interests, as between members of a group or between classes, peoples, etc.: to promote solidarity among union members.

2. community of feelings, purposes, etc.

3. community of responsibilities and interests.

"solidarity." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 02 Apr. 2008. Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/solidarity .