Saturday, 29 December 2012
From the “The only constant is change” department:
I’ve talked several times here about my decision to keep track of how much money I’ve found during the year. And, well, now it’s time to take an inventory. I suppose there’s a really tiny chance that I find some money lying on the sidewalk sometime in the next 48 hours but, with snow covering anything, it seems unlikely. I’ve also often found money in the hallways at work and at school but, of course, I won’t be attending either anymore this year, so those options are out. And I suppose I might go to a store in the next couple of days but…I’m gonna try my darndest not to. So, I’m not likely to find a penny on the floor of any store.
That being said, I found $17.93 this year. I haven’t found anything since a measly penny I found back on the 11th and, ever since, I’ve been hoping for just a little more to put me over the $18 mark but, again, that seems unlikely now.
December marks my least successful month, in terms of money found. I only found twenty-one cents all month, down from my previous low of 37 cents (a dubious record I set last month). Winter months are harder, since I stay home more, and it gets darker earlier.
You may recall that, early on in the year, I was gunning to double my haul from last year. Last year I found $13.68, so while I’ve clearly bested that, I’m not likely to find the remaining ~$10 I need to double it in the short time remaining this year.
Anyway, that’s it for the money-finding this year. I’ll keep track again next year, ’cause I think it’s so much fun. And, as always, I’ll keep you posted if anything interesting turns up.
Sunday, 30 December 2012
On the other hand, a list I will not be maintaining next year is my list of books I’ve read. Well, at least not the online version. Don’t get me wrong, I have no intention of not keeping track on my own lists here on my computer. But this Word Press version on my blog is annoying to have to update. The resulting list is kind of a mess, too. It’s also redundant. So, from now on, I’ll stick to my Excel version exclusively.
This year, as you can see from the list, I read 75 books. This only includes actual books (not magazines or brochures) that are 48 pages or longer. It also only includes books that I’ve never read before. I know Owen and I read at least four books that I had read before (including, most recently, the very enjoyable The Triumph of the Swan), but I didn’t list any book I had already read.
This was, indeed, a perfect year to publicly list the books I read. For one thing, I read for a variety of reasons – books I needed to read to review, books I had to read for class, those I read (or listened to) for fun, and those that I read to my children. Secondly, this was a record-setting year. Back in 2000, I read 71 books, and that was my zenith until I broke that record earlier this year (I wrote about that here).
There are still over 24 hours left in the year, but I doubt I’ll be adding to the 2012 list. I have an audio book I’m listening to in my car and, even though I’m nearly done with it, I don’t expect to listen to anymore of it until the next time I drive to work…which won’t be until 2013. Also, I have a few books I’m working through the old-fashioned way (i.e., reading them), but I don’t think I’ll be able to polish off any of them as soon as tomorrow. So, all those will likely go towards 2013’s tally.
Thanks to my reading of your blog, my oldest daughter and I have a thing we do when we see money on the ground. Whoever sees it first makes some comment about you coming and getting the coins. For example, I might say, “We should call James and tell him about that dime.”
And while the chances of you ever coming upon a coin that we had previously seen is extremely small, some of them stand out as being extra humorous. We could be at my daughter’s school or a relative’s driveway and my daughter might say, “Maybe James will find it.” And then I say, “Maybe.”
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That’s hilarious! Thanks for sharing. I’m glad the pasttime of laughing at me is enjoyed across generations.
You comment reminds me of th crisis of pride I sometimes face when I see money. For example, earlier this year, I was at college and I saw a penny under a vending machine. Problem was, another student was using the vending machine. So then I had to decide if I was going to stand behind that guy, wait for him to finish using the machine, and then walk up to it just to grab the penny (and how would that look to any who happened to ge in line behind me?). I let that penny go. I let quite a few go. I have my pride, man.
Well, of course I use my kids (when they are with me) as pride shields by quietly whispering to them to do the things I wouldn’t do — “Go grab some of those mints.” With money on the ground, though, it’s more about keeping an oversimplified policy on picking crap up off the ground. I have a feeling my little schemers would overuse the I-thought-it-was-a-quarter excuse. And the “Let’s call James…” routine works great to fill the conversation that would otherwise go something like, “…but someone else will pick it up and spend it and we’ll just get the same dirty money the next time we get change from the store.”
As far as joking around, there may have been some talk about gorilla gluing some quarters to the sidewalk near your house.
I’m curious – at what point to does picking up money from the ground become acceptable? I mean, I could se passing up pennies and nickels because the possibility of nasty germs outweighs the financial benefit…but what about a five dollar bill?
Gorilla gluing cash to my sidewalk would be just fine with me. I’ll go out there with my crowbar. It would certainly be less frustrating than that quarter in between two vending machines at my job (which I can neither reach, nor maneuver the machines without looking like an idiot).