is the word 'diary' better than the word 'blog'? probably not.
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On Not Getting Cut That Break. Tiny Nationalism. Sarcastic Sarcasm.
On Not Getting Cut That Break. Tiny Nationalism. Sarcastic Sarcasm.
This is one of those things a person just has to write about it in order to acknowledge it, exorcise it, and move on. Last night I lost my wallet. I think I must have left it in a cab, or dropped it on the ground between the cab and the door. All I know is that it is gone. This is bad because I had just gone to the bank and taken out $140, which is, pathetically, about all the cash I had left this month (academic-types get paid once monthly). I took all the money out because Wells Fargo is my bank and there are no Wells Fargos in Pennsylvania, so I thought I�d get a supply of cash to bring back with me, thereby saving on some of those non-WF ATM charges. Yeah, I�ve saved myself a lot of money this month. I really have.
Yes, I called the cab company. Yes, the dispatcher asked all the drivers to look for the wallet. I am not hopeful.
Oh well. This is the first time I�ve ever lost my wallet, I think.
Here�s the good part. Due to my two-wallet system, I only lost the cash and my ATM card. I still have my driver�s license, credit cards and other identifying and useful documents like my faculty ID badge and health coverage cards. I keep cash and the ATM card in a cute little change purse that looks like a cassette tape, and I keep the other cards in a cute little silver case. If I had actually lost my whole wallet I wouldn�t be on an airplane back to Pennsylvania right now because I wouldn�t have been allowed to travel without any identification! That would have sucked in epic fashion. Also: it took only one short call to Wells Fargo to invalidate my ATM card, whereas otherwise it would have been endless hassle to cancel and replace all my other cards. So that is the bright spot.
However, I am still without cash, and won�t have an ATM card for 5-10 days.
I�m also really bummed about losing the cassette-tape change purse. I�ve had it for years. It�s really cute and cool and everyone always compliments me on it and the company that made it doesn�t make them anymore. It makes newish ones that are much less cute than the one that I, until last night, had managed to keep in my possession for roughly seven years. Beyond that�
It�s only money. Oh, money! AstrologyZone told me that this was going to be a good month for me monetarily. Now, I know the month is only half over, but so far I�ve been rejected from a high-paying job and lost my spending money for the month. Do you think maybe AstrologyZone is mistaken? Sure, I finally got the $500 check for an article I wrote a year ago, and thus I was able to pay more on some of my bills, and that�s all good. Plus I managed to spend a whole month in San Francisco without buying any shoes or clothing items, save for the $10 blazer. But still. I want a break to be cut in my general direction when it comes to my cash flow. Because AstrologyZone has assured me that I have one coming. OK?
This morning on Supershuttle it was six in the morning. And there was a guy on the shuttle who was hellbent on having pleasant conversation the whole way from up in the hills of San Francisco to the Oakland airport. There�s nothing wrong with being nice and civil and conversational with people, even though I am not really the type to talk to strangers very often. But, DUDE!, it was six in the morning. He asked me if I had read The Art of War! And he had John Wayne pacing. You know, the kind of guy who really savors every syllable he speaks, and takes his time with it, and assumes there could be no better way to spend the time of six people in a supershuttle than to let them savor his easy way with speech too?
Then he started torturing the driver by asking him if he liked football. I was exempt from that conversation. But it occurs to me: liking a sports team because of its regional affiliation is like tiny nationalism. I know there is something about �having a team that is your team� that I just don�t get, so don�t take this too seriously if you�re sports-enthused. Also, I do enjoy watching a game of football now and then, and basketball more often. I really do. But why should regional affiliation mean anything? Dude! I�m from Philly so I love the EAGLES. No. Dude, I�m from Western Mass so I love the PATRIOTS! And because my team wins more often than your team, MY WHOLE REGION KICKS YOUR WHOLE REGION�S ASS! I guess this strikes me as funny because this proclaimed superiority has nothing to do with anything I ("I" meaning "enthusiastic regionally affiliated sports fan") personally have ever thought or did or performed or earned. But I am still proud! And loud! And sometimes I will even get in a fight over it! And when asked for my reasons for fighting, my answer is either inarticulate or boils down to differences of region or preference that cannot be justified by any reasonable criterion. Tiny nationalism.
In other news, here on the plane I walked back to the restroom area and a guy was standing there talking to a flight attendant. I asked him if he was waiting for the restroom. He said (sarcastic intonation): �No. I�m just standing here.� I did not appreciate that. I looked at him for a moment and said (sarcastic intonation): �Oh. You�re using sarcasm.� At the very least, it is sometimes funny to be funny only for oneself.
10:59 p.m. - January 12, 2006
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