I have a list of "things I want to do/be" and I thought some of them were pretty well thought out. I wouldn't go so far as to call them unique, but I thought they were pretty personalized. Turns out, THEY'RE NOT! All of them are characteristics newspapers use to indicate a recession! So now I wonder, what if all these things I want to do, because I thought they would fit me, are totally not even about me? Maybe it's all the result of something bigger! That sounded like a line out of Heroes or Lost.
Some of my plans
1) Not buying a car
I kind of hate driving, because I assume I will get in an accident. After coming to Berkeley, I started having ideas that I could potentially go through life without EVER buying a car. Just take public transportation! Saves me parking trouble, gas money, and guilt from killing the environment. After I found out that auditors are not flown everywhere, but might actually have to drive to nearby companies, I figured out that a car would be pretty useful. I'm still thinking of just doing zipcar, and never having a car.
BUT then I find out that there are a lotttt less car purchases because people aren't able to get the loans to pay them off. I don't think this would have been my problem, but still! I am one of many people who no longer wish to buy cars, either for environmental or financial reasons.
2) Eating out less often
Berkeley food is delicious, yes, but after calculating how much money I spend eating out, this must stop! I grew up hearing all these statistics about how the American family is eating out a lot more, and oh! what a travesty. Luckily, I had the luxury of having my mom cook everything for me, so I do know how nice that feels. Plus, I think it's easier to be a health nut if you make everything for yourself. So I was like, cook more! Eat out less! Perfectly fits my needs
BUT of course that is just another indicator that Americans are pinching their pockets! Apparently when times get tough, we decide to invest more time cooking (so buy stocks in grocery stores! says one article). Restaurants are having much less business than usual. So I guess I'm not the only one sitting around in my apartment eating scrambled eggs for dinner. Or maybe I am...
3) Buying less shit
After buying tons of crap that I didn't want in senior year, I decided to strap down my wallet and stop buying shit just because someone else was buying something. That kind of led to two years of having really crappy jeans selection. I'm kind of waiting until I get a job, so I have a real excuse to go out and update my wardrobe with businesswear. But looking at my expenditures document, I really don't buy very much and I doubt I will even when the time comes.
BUT clearly, this is because I am a consumer who has less spending power. I'm kind of dreading the inevitable headlines that will be saying "lowest holiday sales in YEARS! What does this mean for the economy?" in a few months.
There was no real purpose or conclusion to this entry. I just keep reading articles in NY times where the observations they are making totally describe me! Or are things I experience. One I read about yesterday was how companies are leaning towards undesignated offices, meaning that they just have empty desks and cubicles and people grab one when they are in the office. I totally noticed this when I was at Grant Thornton and thought it was an ingenious idea, but I would have never thought that this was a new idea. What would they have done before?! I can't even guess. One day I aspire to walk into my workplace and grab ... a nameless table with absolutely nothing on the surrounding walls or in the drawers. How modern
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