Posts Tagged ‘spare change’
Pocket Full of Change
Total Black: $16.79
Total Red: $269,947.64
Ever since I was a lad, I kept my loose change in a container or piggy bank of some sort. Not sure why. Perhaps because males don’t get purses and wallets don’t typically have space for coins. It’s come in handy many times. Once, for example, when I was a boy, I counted and rolled all my spare change and came up with nearly fifty dollars worth. I turned it all over to my mother and father because they had been going through some tough times. Maybe one had been in the hospital. I don’t recall now. But I do remember how grown-up I felt to be able to give such a large amount to them. Fifty dollars is no small beer even now and in the 1980s it was certainly worth more. That habit has helped get me out of quite a few jams. Keep reading . . .
Helping Others
Total Black: $63.02
Total Red: $230,428.32
If around lunchtime you walk by the corner of Wall Street and Water Street in downtown New York, you’ll probably see an older woman begging for change. She’s hard to miss, especially for the guys, because you’ll probably hear “Hey handsome. Got some change to spare.” or maybe “Hey beautiful, could you buy me a cup of coffee?” Let’s just say she’s a bit forward in her panhandling tactics. Initially, I avoided her, especially since she’s somewhat of a mainstay on that corner. —I just realized the irony of my own thoughts: that after a few days of begging for change she should have been off that corner by now. I’m nearly five months into my project and I’ve barely made a dent in my debt. If I were dependent upon the kindness of strangers, I certainly wouldn’t have made any progress. Keep reading . . .
Virtually Incensed
Total Black: $63.15
Total Red: $230,600.32
While letting my apartment air out from the exterminators’ visit this afternoon, I took time at a nearby Starbucks to read today’s New York Times. I was utterly befuddled . . . nay dumbfounded . . . by an article on the front page. Claire Cain Miller and Brad Stone penned an article titled “Virtual Goods Start Bringing Real Paydays.” I use social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. And I’ve played a few hours of Second Life. So I’m not unfamiliar to the idea of using real money to purchase virtual currency or virtual goods. But I would have never imagined what Miller and Stone reported. Keep reading . . .
Res Ipsa Loquitur
Total Black: $168.03
Total Red: $228,153.42
Earlier today I reached out to colleagues at my former law firm. I had a quick question to ask related to corporate practice regarding the work I’m doing for my colleague. I practiced in litigation while at the firm, so I’m only vaguely familiar with corporate filings, securities documents, balance sheets, and the like. Six out of seven people I telephoned didn’t answer. Large law firm associates in New York frequently get cold calls from recruiters and headhunters looking to make money facilitating a lateral move to another law firm. So, associates where I worked often didn’t pick up calls from external telephone numbers we didn’t recognize. It was different, and annoying, being on the other side of that telephone line today. I did get to speak with three associates though. One picked up; the other two called me back. Two of the three seemed really irritated by my question. (It regarded dates on amended documents: use original or amended date; pretty basic.) Within roughly ninety seconds of the call both said they had to go and practically hung up before I could say thanks and good-bye. I assume some urgent email or telephone call came in. Keep reading . . .