Donna Freedman Recently a friend contacted me in a panic. She needed $586 immediately or her vehicle would be repossessed.
When I called, she also noted that she needed something to get her family through until payday. Could I loan her as much as $800?
I hesitated for a moment. Then I stopped what I was doing, moved some money from one account to the other and got myself over to Western Union (which thoughtfully tacked on a $44 wire fee).
Before you call me a sucker, hear me out. Then call me a sucker.
Recently my daughter noticed she was having trouble swallowing. This perplexed her until she realized what day it was: Jan. 21, the anniversary of the day she wound up in the ICU back in 1998.
What put her there was Guillain-Barre syndrome, an auto-immune disease that attacks the peripheral nervous system and, in Abby’s case, paralyzed her right up to her eyeballs and nearly killed her.
I want to go to Cardiff, Wales, while I’m in the United Kingdom. The train fare from London made my head spin: $83.50 to $131 each way.
Who’s for the MegaBus?
While making breakfast I scorched the toast. Automatically I scraped off the Cajun part before smearing on some butter and homemade jam. Then I started to wonder: How many people would have just thrown it in the trash and started over?
I grew up scraping toast. My family would have considered it wasteful to toss charred chow, given how simple it is to fix.
Recently a thread started up on Not MSN Money, a community formed by so-called “refugees” from MSN Money’s now-defunct message boards. The thread, “What do you do with the heels from bread?,” asked readers whether they use them or toss them.
Guess what the answers were.
Recently a reader (and friend) commented on the “2011, in one word” post. Vicky noted that she allows “five minutes a day to mope or feel sorry for myself.”
I like the idea of slotting a five-minute mope in the day minder. Remember Holly Hunter’s short, stupendous bout of hysterics in “Broadcast News”? I aspire to that sort of efficient catharsis.
But I’d also like the option of setting aside the unused minutes, for those times when I need a longer session of self-pity. Thus I suggest a new personal indulgence: Rollover mopes.
Moping, within reason, can be as useful as optimism. Focusing on what’s right with your life is a terrific way to keep problems in perspective. But focusing only on what’s right with your life means ignoring what might be wrong with it.
Neurotic Workaholic is the winner of the six different kinds of Godiva chocolate. Congratulations, and I hope you can power down long enough to enjoy the sweets.
The rest of you take heart: Another Godiva giveaway is in the offing. Not right away, but soon.
Let’s make this clear: I don’t read romance novels. But a woman I know does. No. Seriously! It’s not me!
Check out her post, “What you should be reading for Christmas,” either as an occasion for hilarity or a chance to make a reading list. Romances aren’t my cup of (overly sweetened) tea, but they might be yours.
And yeah, Christmas has come and gone – but Valentine’s Day awaits.
Julia over at Bargain Babe is giving away 11 prizes, including a $250 Macy’s gift card, to celebrate the site’s second anniversary. Click here to learn more and to enter. Do it quickly, since the deadline for the Macy’s card is 11:59 p.m. Monday.
“Blue Monday,” aka the most depressing day of the year, is coming up fast. Godiva chocolate could be the antidote.
Practical Parsimony was the winner of this week’s giveaway, a $20 Amazon.com certificate. I’m sure her grandson will be relieved, because Practical P. plans to spend the scrip on an iTunes card for her grandson, to “accompany the boring bathrobe I am giving him.” Happy birthday, grandson — dodged a bullet there. In other news: … Read more
A number of bloggers have chosen words that represent what they want the year to bring.
Here’s my word: Permission.
Here’s why.