Mistakes

We've all made mistakes in our lives, but mine seem to be dominated by food-related mistakes.  

Example No. 1: 

In college, I got wind of the annual McDonald's 25 cent hamburger promotion.  College was the first time I had the freedom and means to do whatever I wanted.  And I wanted two things: hamburgers and to save money.  Here was a perfect opportunity to do both!  So I ended up buying $5 worth of hamburgers, at 25 cents, that was 20 hamburgers, such a steal!  Except I ended up eating hamburgers every day for every meal (including breakfast) for almost two weeks.  Lesson learned: do not purchase 20 hamburgers at once.

You'd think that I would be able to generalize such a lesson to other foods, but that has not proven to be the case.  

Example No. 2: 

When I first moved to New York City, I hadn't yet stocked my fridge and was hungry.  I was walking down the street when suddenly I saw a sign from above.  Subway was having a deal-- 10 footlongs for $10!  Wow!  What a deal!  I learned the hard way though that Subway sandwiches do not refrigerate well (especially when you get tomatoes and oil and vinegar on them).  Being the frugal type, I refused to throw out perfectly edible sandwiches, and it would be two years before I ate another Subway sandwich.

Example No. 3:

A bunch of high school friends headed to Atlantic City during an annual winter-break reunion.  The first thing we did was hit the buffet.  Of course, I would have to extract all the value out of the buffet by eating more in food than the buffet cost.  That's how I would rage against the machine!  Ha ha!  Got you!  

I ended up eating 8 plates of food, and could not move for more than 2 hours.  Literally-- could not move.  My dear high school friends, to show their care and concern, left me at the buffet to go gamble.  Buffet: 1, Me: 0

I'd like to think I learn from my mistakes and become a better person as a result.  However, with food, I clearly have a problem.  

Latest Example:

Cereal was on sale at the Super Target.  Family pack of Life cereal with two freshness-sealed bags for only $3.99!  What a deal!  Except now I have to eat two boxes of Life cereal.  When will I learn not to buy food in bulk?

Beauty and the beast

So Yao Ming got married to his childhood sweetheart, the 6'2" Ye Li, also a basketball player.  I guess it would look funny if Yao Ming hooked up with the typical barely 5' tall Chinese girl.  

My mother commented, when she saw a picture of Ye Li, that she was a beast.  Evidently, my mother thinks Yao Ming can do better.  But from the wedding photos, I think she looks ok.  I think the true litmus test of whether you are a beast or not is if you are unsuccessful in looking pretty on your own wedding day.  Luckily, most people clean up pretty good.  

Of course, so far, all I've been able to find are pictures of her from an angle, where you don't really see her face.  That may be a bad sign. 

One man's trash...

... is probably trash.  You really don't get to see all the really crappy furniture out there until you shop for it on Craigslist.  Some of the stuff out there I just don't understand how it even got made.  I was actually surprised at the amount of stolen dorm furniture for sale as well.  All I know is that I think I can splurge a little and get furniture that doesn't make my place look like the Plex lounge.  

As I've been known to buy more furniture than necessary in the past, and just accumulating too much stuff in general, I've really been working at reducing how much I buy.  

For example, the amount of furniture I'm aiming to have in my entire apartment here is probably going to be the same amount I had in my room at 717 Emerson.  Any of you who have been in that apartment probably remember that it was chock full of unnecessary furniture.  Like a tallish behind the sofa table.  Why on earth did we need that?

Other examples: A breakfast nook table and chairs that we never used, bookcases upon bookcases that may or may not have had books, and so on.

Now, I'm aiming to have my entire apartment fit into less than 10 units.  By unit, I mean a box or a large item.  For example, a TV counts as one unit.  Right now, I'm at 9 units without furniture.  As far as furniture goes, I will have five items.  A dining set, a sofa, a coffee table, a TV stand, and a bed.  If I get shelves, that will make six or seven, but that's the limit.  I plan on getting those snap together shelves so when it comes time to move again, if I want to, I can take it apart and fit it in my hatchback.  Everything else was bought second hand so I can sell it for cost or even for a profit.  No more brand-new IKEA for me!

I hate moving.  Especially the part where I'm looking forward to having a nice hot dog, but then I realize I haven't bought ketchup or relish yet.