ch-ch-changes.

It has been a week of lessons.

• There is never any excuse to put up with emotional abuse • A leap of faith is always scary; that shouldn't be the barrier • It's not your place to feel guilty for accepting help if it's offered • Misery loves company, and will sometimes pay for it • "Interview for many open positions" sometimes means "Info session that doesn't apply to you" • Just because you don't get asked for a co-pay, doesn't mean you won't get hit with a bill for it later • My mom will always have the latest technology before me • If I can't find my cat, he's probably right next to me wondering what we're looking for • Poptarts can land you in the ER with 2nd degree burns •

Didn't see that last one comin', did you? Neither did we..

So, my life is changing (thanks to my support system). Like, seriously, legit changing for the first time in over a year and a half. As always, there are an endless number of obstacles (would life be fun without them?) and I don't have an overall escape route. I guess we're not supposed to. A wise philosopher of life* once told me, "No use crying over spilled bridges." So.. there's that. (*Not really a philosopher of life.)

Over the last couple days, I've come to realize while I'm working a little harder to save money, cutting back does not mean killing my social life. B and I wanted to spend a day doing something fun for free, so we went and played frisbee and went for a little mini-hike in Waltham. I went out with some friends last night, but ate dinner at home as to not spend money on food. So now, I have a new challenge that's actually kind of fun: staying active while spending the absolute bare minimum. It's not meant to be punishment or torture, but there are actually a lot of ways to get out and hang out for little to nothing.

For starters:

• Cut out fast food. A serious problem I have, as it's the closest, "cheapest" food to my job. This also translates into, "More regular Stop&Shop trips."
• Walk/bike more. Also see: get a job closer to home. Also see: fix my bike.. I've got to cut back on gas. I live in the middle of everything. There are quite a few things I can pick up that I don't need to get in my car for, especially now that it's nice out. I'm just a little lazy.
  
• Shop.. *there*. The lines alone are what I picture Hell to be like, but let's face it.. there is nowhere else in the world I can pick up a 20lb box of litter and 16lb bag of Purina Indoor Formula for a grand total of under $20. I also once bought a 24pk of "the good TP" (you know, quilted pockets and all) for $8. ISYN. (Oh, that's short for "I Shit You Not." Learn it, it'll catch on.)
• Hang at home. I mean, with people. Don't isolate for the sake of saving. But a 6 pack is about the same as 1 beer at some bars and a good game of Quelf can outdo Trivia Night any day of the week.

That's all I got. I'm exhausted. I've rambled for a while now. And, in case you're wondering, the random crap up top are me tooling around with my "new" Bamboo. It's only slightly irrelevant and a product of me opening Illustrator at 1am. My bad.