Opening entry, (St. Paul Pioneer Press) Bulletin Board

Posted on Thurs., Sept. 7, 2006

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Grapes? A CD? Black jeans? What do you buy with 'me' money?

Writes Poet X of PDX: "At last — two days off in a row. Haven't had that in well over a month. I've worked at one or the other of two part-time jobs for the past nine days.

"What's the first thing I want to do, given two days off? Stay up late! What's the most likely thing that will happen? Fall asleep early!

"But I'm not complaining. It's nice to have a steady income after a few years of sporadic employment. There were a few stretches of being very miserly and counting every penny, skimping and conserving.

"When employment would come, I would find myself buying the following things when I had 'me' money after a long stretch without: (1) grapes, (2) a CD, and (3) a new pair of black jeans.

"Watermelon would sometimes replace the grapes, and a book might replace the CD, but those were the first things I'd treat myself to when I sensed a regular paycheck. Some of them weren't regular enough, so I got to visit this list more than a few times.

"I've been hired, albeit part time, at one of the latest temp jobs, so the list has been put aside for now. I'm likely to have both grapes and watermelon! (And I've been treating myself to a book a week for the past month or two.)

"I thought it might be an interesting topic to hear from others: What's the first thing you buy with 'me' money when you've been without it for a sustained time?"