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On Conference Survival Skills
Hah! I am going to a professional conference in two weeks, and I have resolved not to deal with this issue the way I usually do, which is by sticking with the three people I know and not trying to network at all. I need to meet new people! I need to network! But it is much easier to sit in a corner with the three people I know. And that sort of defeats the purpose of going to a professional conference. Anyway, I'm presenting at my upcoming conference, which means that I'm going to spend the next two weeks angsting about what I should wear. That may be worse than angsting about the fact that I'm a nobody and everyone hates me, but only by a little bit.
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On Not Paying for Museum Admission Not Worth It
@goldenhandcuffs Also, in Logan’s situation, nobody claimed financial hardship as a reason to not pay. Logan didn’t want to pay because she had already been there once, and her other friend didn’t want to pay for idealistic reasons. Well, yeah, because Logan is in complete denial about her financial situation. But we know, because she has told us, that she cannot afford to pay $10 to go to a museum. She can't afford anything. She has negative money. Every penny she has is owed to her creditors. I don't think she should be sneaking into museums, but I also don't think she can afford to spend $10 to go to a museum. Logan can't afford to go to museums right now. She cant' afford anything but absolute necessities and payment on her debt. What Logan did was wrong, but I get a little irked with the idea that cultural institutions are somehow entitled to people's money. Museums are a luxury. People who can't afford luxuries don't get to go to museums, and museums don't get to have the money that those people need to spend on necessities.
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On Jami Attenberg's Bagel Shop Lady
My co-pay is only $5, but the bagel lady wouldn't have saved me even $5, because what kind of a dingbat goes to the doctor for a cold?
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On Which British Class Are You?
I am an "emergent service worker." I fear that I am about ten years too old to be an "emergent" anything, though.
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On Are We "Post-Material"?
The thing is, people said exactly the same thing about Gen Xers with our McJobs and our zines. I think it's partly a stage of life thing. A lot of people feel like this when they're first starting out. Most Millennials will, in fact, be ok career-wise, and they'll probably start feeling a little less "post-material" when they're more focused on retirement and/or helping their kids pay for college.
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On Up And At 'Em
I'm a morning person, and I find it to be a bit of a pain in the ass. I turn in to a pumpkin at about 10:00 PM, and sometimes I would like to stay up later than that. I definitely do feel like a bit of a lump if I haven't accomplished anything by 9:00 AM, so I sort of get why some morning people think that everyone should be a morning person. After all, I feel lethargic and lazy if I don't do something early in the morning. But I don't think it takes too much effort to remember that everyone is different, and I know that night owls (or just ordinary people) don't understand why I have to leave Oscar parties well before the Best Picture award is handed out.
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On Paper Luxury Goods
@Punk-assBookJockey Yeah, I'm sort of amused by the "luxury brand" thing, because I use the Moleskin mini-notebooks to keep track of knitting-related stuff, and I always buy them at Target. On the other hand, Target has surprisingly nice paper stuff, I've found, so maybe Target is now a purveyor of luxury paper goods.
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On Buzz Bissinger's Shopping Addiction
That... did not go where I thought it was going to go. It's weird when you think "this guy is never going to be able to admit that he has a weird fetish" than then he comes out and explains that he has a weird fetish. Good for him, I guess. I hope he finds a way to manage the stuff that is causing him problems.
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On SPENT
@loren smith I live in a small city, and there is some free street parking, although it's a hassle to find it. If I were going to park in a lot at work, I would have to pay $80 a month. It's somewhat immaterial, though, because most low-income jobs aren't located downtown. The point is that very few poor Americans can afford to live within walking distance of work. It may be different in Canada. But in the US, most people are going to have to pay for transportation. I ride my bike to work, but it's very clear to me that it's not an option for a lot of my neighbors, for reasons of distance, ability, or the need to transport kids.
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On Fried Dough Snobbery
Sometimes I am glad to live in the hinterlands, where I can avoid the temptations of glorious artisinal junk food. However, living in the hinterlands without much money has made me into a good baker, and I'm not very good at avoiding the temptations of my own homemade junk food. At least I probably burn some calories making delicious, buttery homemade baked goods! (I haven't tried to make doughnuts, yet, though. Deep frying is a little daunting.)