Okay, I really don't feel so bright. I've really got to start looking at the big picture before doing things these days. Seriously.
So, Kyle, Jiaz, and I laid down a deposit to secure a very nice 1500+ sq foot apartment 10 minutes from tech. A bit above $500 a month, which comes in at a fair bit less than what Jiaz and Kyle calculated Gatech's housing costs at some $620. So everything so be grand, right? Not quite, on several levels. Here's how it pans out.
First off the bat, that $500 covers, well, space, space and more space and some kitchen appliances. Nothing more. Tech furnishes sofas, a bed, a desk, a cabinet, a closet, as well as the kitchen stuff (for an apartment at least, though in the dorms the stuff's just communal). Sink's alot nicer, so's the fridge I guess, and the showers, so all pluses, but nothing that's super critical or anything. However, Tech also covers utilities. Okay, perhaps $130 total a month, so not enough to bring it up to the level of Tech still, we're still ahead, even factoring the gas of a 10 minute drive to campus rather than already being there (though if prices keep rising under the current administration this could definately change). I can get the furniture for the most part (probably minus a bed, I don't really want to move my desk either, or a table, but that's most of it I guess) and the community offers alot. Again technically not anything that Tech doesn't provide (pool, weight room, raquetball court). Parking's free, unlike at Tech however I'll likely need parking there as well so that my driving to campus amounts to something other than the boot getting attached to my CRV.
At this point I'd like to apologize in advance for spelling mistakes before I continue, I've had a major headache ever since traffic coming home and nothing's fixed it for me yet.
Alright, so so far things sound pretty good right? Saving a bit, pretty posh community, beer and skittles lifestyle right? Well, not quite. I don't know what to say about meals. Honestly at the 10-14 plans it's cheaper to eat at Woodruff than to furnish my own food, especially if I want to attempt the same level of variety and beverages. Well, alright, I can manage, just have to get a bit creative, force myself to cook with something besides the microwave perhaps, it'll be a learning experience, I guess. Learning that I suck at cooking perhaps, but I doubt that'll be the end sum of my attempts, I figure I can do well enough, if I push myself. Ah for the good old days of lovely enchilladas.
Alright, food's not really a big deal, I can just cut the savings from the inflated plans into buzz funds and dine on campus for lunch, decent variety and a passable value. What's the big kicker then? Simple. The per month cost of living at Tech is greater than the per month cost of living here, however, I wasn't planning to live at Tech this summer, when the lease starts. So, simple mathematics (and I've had way more than simple) will tell you that any number is greater than zero, alot greater. I've said this several times, innumerable times perhaps, but the way things work is often quite different in theory versus application for me, no matter what I try. Oh well, hopefully I'll have 3 jobs to juggle around which should account for it if it doesn't break me completely. *Cross fingers*
When I started the post 2 and a half hours ago I'd kinda planned another bash against my own intelligence for voting for Bush (and yes, I did, I admit it, and I regret it) but I'm not feeling up to it this evening, perhaps at another time.
However, Karma's not complete without a bit of balance, so: Anyone remember the Geogia High School Graduation Test? David had to take it. Included on the test was the following.
Anne held her stethoscope in her hands to warm it up for her patient. Anne is most likely a:
A) Secretary
B) Doctor
C) Farmer
D) Engineer
When David informed me of the question, I rationally pointed out that maybe 20% of Georgia High School students would be too stupid to know what a stethoscope was (I admit I'm too stupid to spell it on my first try, wanted to add extra letters), however he tactfully countered that you don't need to. The inclusion of the context clues "her patient" is more than enough to answer the question. Nothing but a Doctor has patients. So much for my line of thinking (and George W. Bush's purpoited No Child Left Behind program, but that's a story for another time).
Well, Happy World Water Day everyone. Hopefully the link works for someone, keeps timing out for me, but my net isn't as infailable as it is at Tech.
