ugh

I know I haven't written awhile despite vowing to do so.

I'll start with this gem:

it sucks that ppl themselves have to make everything harder on the other person when things could be so simple and better

That's a Facebook update from a former classmate of mine at culinary school. Oof. As if the ITT Tech-style commercials weren't enough to make my loans an issue of major consternation in my life.

Speaking of which, I think I have a plan to be financially responsible. I opened a savings account today, and I'm going to attempt to dump at least 50 bucks in there per month. Aside from being there to help me out in case I take another Volkswagen to the face, it'll enable me to actually do something cool one of these days. In addition, I've been really putting more money into my student loans. I'm trying to pay off the small one (about six grand) within a year or two, to eliminate a pretty big monthly payment from my life. I'd then like to really throw a lot of money at the big loan (about 45 grand or so right now) so I won't in my forties by the time it goes away. The education I'm paying for is really the only thing preventing me from doing some cool shit with my life, at least financially speaking. My life, overall and despite financial troubles, is pretty cool.

I think, realistically, if I stay with this goofy medical company for another couple of years and make them pay me enough for what I'm doing for them (I'm making ten bucks an hour or so less than the guy previously doing my job, and doing way better), I could not only kill my loans and enable myself to do whatever I want--whether it's pro cooking again, working as a bike mechanic, whatever--I could also conceivably buy a house in Pittsburgh and quit paying rent. I love it here. The climate is perfect for me, the people are incredibly laid back, I'm in as far as the restaurant business goes, and it's a great city for not giving a shit about having a driver's license. I could get a sweet old house in Wilkinsburg, or anywhere in the East End for that matter, fix it up, have a huge enough garden to never buy produce again, and either live alone or invite my good friends to live with me and help with what will likely be a pretty timid mortgage, considering the market here.

My other recent financial achievement: health insurance. And I mean full, company-paid benefits. I finally signed up for the company's plan, and there's not a cent deducted from my paycheck. Medical, dental, vision, drug, life insurance, disability coverage, and I'm even reimbursed for the deductibles after I pay them. Not that I've even got any shit to take care of, but next time I'm impaled by a Swiss DT double-butted spoke, it'll definitely come in handy.