Hey, You Can't Blame Me for Trying...

As usual, I shall start this post by commenting on how long it has been since my last post. It has been over two months now. In that time I have turned twenty-seven and gone through yet another mid-life crisis, I think. I would excuse my lack in post writing to the fact that turning twenty-seven was not easy, birthdays never are, but I know that would be a lie.  In fact, I have had plenty of things to write about. I have read two books so far. I know that two books is not enough but they are going to be part of my thousand book project.  I shall write about them soon, hopefully. I am going to keep the apologizing for not writing section of this post short as I know that it is getting a little old.

Well, something happened yesterday that made me want to write. Unfortunately I cannot get into the story without giving you some background first.

About two months ago, my parents decided to look into my finances and were appalled at the amount of money I owed to credit cards. Yes, I know that using credit cards is stupid. I also know, however, that it is fun to do whatever you want to do whenever you want to regardless of whether you can afford it at the moment. This is also true because I am horrible at saving and, if I had to save to do anything I wanted, I would never do anything. Anyway, despite the fact that I was twenty-six, this was obviously before my birthday, they decided to take a more hands on approach. First thing they did was bail me out. Yeah, that was pretty cool. They paid off my credit cards. However, this was not a present. It was a loan. A loan that I am having to pay back with most of my disposable income every paycheck. Yes, you guessed it right. I was put on a budget. The way it literally works is that I get to work and, when I get my paycheck, I get to pay whatever bills need paying and then give most of the rest of the money to my parents as repayment of their loan. Technically, it's like I get an allowance all over again. Well... that is how it's technically supposed to work but lately I have been straying from the master plan. Take this weekend for example. I probably spent about one hundred and twenty dollars while bar hopping and such. I am a sucker for buying rounds of drinks for everyone. It's not that I have to pay people to like me, but I bet it doesn't hurt. I swear I am a bit  more likable when they are drunk. However, that is beside the point. The point is that I made a resolution on Sunday night, right before I went to bed, to leave my debit card at home so I would not be tempted to go to lunch with my co-workers.

On Monday morning, I woke up and got ready for work. I grabbed my typical breakfast, which consists of one banana since I am not much of a breakfast guy. I got to work and everything seemed to be going smoothly. I was answering my phone, entering stuff into the computer, singing along to whatever music my iPod would play and joking around with my co-workers. It was a good Monday morning. I even went so far as to hide Dottie's mouse and have her cuss me out and tell me to get the hell out of her office. I learned the hard way not to hide someone's mouse and to definitely not take the battery out of said someone's mouse. They really don't like it. When it came time to lunch, it was painstakingly decided that we should all go to a certain chicken sandwich restaurant that has a cow for a mascot. I guess most of y'all know what restaurant I am talking about but I am paranoid about seeing little copyright circles next to name and I really can't afford to waste my allowance on a copyright infringement lawsuit. We drove to the agreed upon eatery and I walked up to the register and ordered my usual whole lot of food. Up to this point everything is going fine but, when I took my wallet out to pay, a wave of fear surged through my body. My first instinct was to think that I had been robbed or that I had lost my debit card. A second later I remembered, though, that I had purposefully, and sleepily, set it in a drawer the night as a deterrent to spending money on lunch. A second wave rushed through me but it wasn't fear this time. It was pure embarrassment. I believe I must have blushed because my face felt all hot. Now, you have seen pictures of me and thankfully I am not pale-complexioned but I do blush in some instances. I very quietly and with a sheepish smile asked the cashier to please cancel my order while I slowly backed away from the register. My mind was going a mile a minute. How could I get home if I had ridden there with some co-workers? Did I have any money stashed somewhere? Yes, I did. Oh, no! It's in my car and I rode here with someone. Is there any way to make this situation not awkward? These and many other things ran through my mind but the prevalent question was, how could I be so stupid as to forget I had left my card at home just so I would not spend money on lunch? As I was kicking myself mentally, while still trying to maintain some level of composure, Heidi comes up and asks me what's wrong.  I gave a short laugh and told her what had happened. Now, if this would have happened to someone else, I would not have let them hear the end of it. Luckily, most people are not me. She simply offered to pay for my lunch. As we were eating, every now and then I would giggle and upon being asked why I was giggling I would simply explain that I could not believe that I had done something so stupid. Yes, my co-workers were not making fun of me. I was. And, I am probably not going to let me live this one down for a while.

It was while still at the restaurant that I decided that I should post this on the blog for posterity. So one day, when I am full of myself, I can look back upon this and realize that I make stupid mistakes as well. Now this is the part of the post where I would make promises about how I am going to write more often and all that. However, I have realized that I can't force myself to write. I hope to still have some readers and, if I do, that they will continue to read regardless of how hectic my posting may be.  I realized last night that I have been doing this for a year now. Not religiously, but it has been a year. So I guess that is some sort of milestone. Anyway, hope to type again soon.