The Money Tree Burns

Today at lunch, Ralph started hypothesizing about what he would do with his share if we won the lottery. What he's referring to is the Powerball tickets that I chipped in for with a couple of others here at work in the hopes of a miracle (I think the pay out went over the $300 million mark, not sure though).

With greenbacks on the brain, my mind naturally started down the path of tangents. Suddenly, I found myself worrying about this upcoming school year and the financial burdens that come with it. I guess it's not a surprise: I'm fairly certain that I start to sweat this stuff right around this time every year. How can I help it? My taxes aren't done. My FAFSA isn't complete. The return to classes is around the corner, and with it comes a sizeable bill from Drexel and estimated city living costs for the next year. I've already determined, for piece of mind and wallet, that I want to get an extra loan this year to help defer some of those financial requirements, but I've yet to apply for one. Obviously, extra loans suck, but so does having absolutely no money in the bank. I've always been one who prefers to have a cash reserve for the "just in case" scenario, and I was able to avoid those extra loans last year and figure that I'm due.

At this point though, it's just troubling to me. All of this had been churning in my head for a good month or so, but today all of it decided to push its way to the front of my mind.

I need to get thinking about something else, and not WoW either

. . . .

Jay was reminded of an old Troy McClure phrase by an article in CNN on shark attacks dropping worldwide. Naturally, he instantly thought of "Man vs. Nature, the Road to Victory" and felt the need to let me in on the joke. That got me reminiscing about Phil Hartman, one of my all time favorite comedians. What was unique, to me, about Phil was that there wasn't a whole lot out there regarding his standup routine. Despite that, I still consider him one of the best. He could impersonate anybody he wanted, and his material was limitless. He could make even the worst SNL sketch funny merely by his presence. And it's that presence that I think is what really puts him with rare company. He was definitely one of those guys that you wanted to like and wanted to laugh with. You can't write that kind of stuff, it's really just a result of character. He played a lot of characters, but the role of Phil Hartman was the best.

Oh yeah, one other thing. A couple of birthdays are coming up, one of which is mine on the first. Dana mentioned that hers is near the end of the month, and so is Joe De Playa's, and that a gathering of individuals in the pursuit of celebratory activities might happen. I'm down for a trip to Jersey if there is one, so people need to let me know. I'll probably inquire just to be safe.

Normally, one would say the "BIG" twenty first, but considering that I haven't had a drink in . . . let's see, oh yeah, never, and that I don't plan on having any in the future, it doesn't seem as big a deal to me as it does to my friends. I am looking forward to two things though: One, I'll be able to go to a casino, something which will hopefully happen by the end of March (Jay will also be 21 by then). The other is the fact that I will officially be considered 100% adult. No more closed doors, no more unavailable bar stools; all of that goes away the second you're 21. I'm sure that, when everyone catches up, a strip club trip will happen, it's unavoidable (although I doubt I'd be one to actually want to avoid that).

You get the idea though: freedom. Real freedom too. Not the kind we got when we moved up into highschool, and not the kind we looked forward to in college. This is the last step people, the only obstacle left in our way before that final "freedom", the one that comes from sweet release. And I don't plan on spiritual ascension any time soon.