October 25, 2005

There are thirty-something students in my math class. There are around forty chairs. Upon arriving half-an-hour early today, I moved twenty chairs out of the classroom and into a neighboring classroom.

This was easy to do as there are rollers on each chair and nobody walking through the halls asked me why I was moving the chairs. Either they didn’t care or didn’t notice (or thought I had a legitimate reason for moving the chairs).

After I was done moving the chairs, I went to get myself some coffee. I came back to the room only after I was sure there were three other students in the room (as to make myself appear less suspicious).

Then I sat back and watched the chaos. It’s remarkable how many of my classmates (who all are better at math than me, I might add) are unable to think on their feet in a situation. I would have gone into another classroom to get a chair. The class is early enough in the morning that there are empty rooms all about to procure chairs… Oh well.

Most of the students (ages ranging from 18 to 25, I’m guessing) stood around at the back of the room unhappily holding their materials until the teacher came in and sent somebody into the neighboring classroom to get chairs.

Evil Ranking: Mildly malicious. 3 out of 10, +2 for the inconvenience.

Note: Originally posted as a Daily Evil. With in seconds of its posting this node was Klaprothed with the explanation that the Daily Evils have been discouraged because they tend to get out of hand and create a “rash of daily evils” when posted. This is a fair enough reason. All Daily Evil’s are now to be daylogs. Thus the Evil Ranking at the bottom.

My wife and I have started saving money for a house. We know lots of people that are either saving what they feel they can or are scraping by because they just can't seem to make ends meet. In our talks, we came up with some good and easy ideas for saving money. All standard disclaimers apply, I am not a financial advisor, etc..

• Stop Using Your Credit Cards
  I now allow myself to only use my credit card at two places: the grocery store and the gas station. We all need food to eat, and using one car to get two people from Point A to Point B makes the car a necessity for us. All other purchases have to be made with cash. The checkbook no longer leaves the house, and it is only used to pay bills.

• Stick to an Allowance
  We currently have three allowances set up. We each get $30 a week to spend or save as we please. $20 goes into a small box that we've dubbed "the going out box." Money from this box is used when we both want Taco Bell or when we're going on a road trip. This allows us to eat out every now and then, but it keeps us preparing our own food most of time, which is much more cost-effective (and healthy) than eating at Panda Express once a week.

• Eliminate Some Luxury Items*
  Take a good look at everything that you pay for in a month. You may be used to things like fast Internet access, cable or satellite television, Tivo, paid LiveJournal account, web hosting, NetFlix, GameFly, DVD/VHS rental, and so on, ad nauseum. Digital cable from Comcast and cable Internet costs me $80 every month. If we decide we're short on money, that will be one of the first things to go. That's $960 of our money lost every year. Just to Comcast. Tivo subscription; there's another $60 a year. These things add up. If you're strapped for cash, start cancelling those luxury items. After all, you can check your email at the library if you're missing credit card payments (we're not, but that's why we decided I could keep the digital cable).

• Shop at a Cheaper Grocery Store
  Is there an Aldi in your area? If so, why aren't you shopping there instead of Tina's Organic Health Food Hut and Juice Bar? Food is food, and there's no reason to overpay. If you don't have a cheap grocery near you, sign up for the discount cards (Albertson's and Safeway both do this), and then buy things when they're on sale. It doesn't matter if you love cereal if it costs $6 per box. Wait until it's only $3 per box and then buy four of them.

None of this is revolutionary stuff. We can all save money if we just remember where to look.

*Author's Notes:
Of the commodities listed, we subscribe only to cable television and cable Internet. I was just on a roll with that list.
Two people have said I only mention two allowances. I mention three: mine ($30/week), my wife's ($30/week), going out ($20/week).

ROSA PARKS: 1913-2005

One day it was too much.

A quiet seamstress, not a young woman, was sitting down on the bus on her way home. She was certainly active, in a quiet way, in the civil rights movement, but sought no limelight.

The front of the bus was full, and more white people came in. The rules were, black people had to vacate the middle seats when that happened.

Montgomery, Alabama. December 1, 1955. I was five years old.

The bus driver went back to tell the four black people sitting in the middle to move, so that a white man could sit down. Three of them moved. One did not.

She was nothing special. 42 years old, on her way home from work. She refused.

SHE REFUSED.

The bus driver threatened to call the police - she said, OK, do so. She was arrested. For respecting herself. For believing in herself. For refusing to bow to an allegedly superior people.

Today she died, at 92. Now, no one would think of trying to treat black people the way she was treated.

She had no children. We are all her children.

Let us be her memorial.