I decided to buy a new (to me) computer. The 2010 Macbook was accelerating toward implosion with no end in sight and I decided to be proactive. I got a refurbished late 2015 21.5" iMac from a local electronics reuse center. The lady there sold me on it. She said most of the iMacs they get are only lightly used, donated from the University, and the 2015 models are as new as they see. I didn't want the mouse or keyboard it came with so I negotiated a $35 drop in price on top of the 20% "we're open during covid" sale they were having. All told I got it for $425, which is a great price at least compared to online refurbished sellers. This unit will have to last 3.25 years to amortize the same as a 10 year lifetime on the $1300 brand new model I was contemplating. If it lasts five years it'll be a $45/y savings. I forgot what having a computer that functions properly was like. Lightning speed over here now.
Spending this month will not fall back into normal range as I expected because of this purchase, but that's ok. September is also looking to be high as I'm going to need to buy a couple hundred dollars of car parts to perform some maintenance.
Houses
I've talked to a realtor. She told me inventory is incredibly low and if I want to put in a winning offer it will need to be within days of the house going on the market, be above asking price, and that when it comes time to submit we can talk about "other things you can do to make the offer attractive to the buyer". Hahaha what sort of horseshit is that? Anyway, she's sending me targeted searches within my parameters with the understanding that I'm laying in wait more than actively shopping, she said it's no big deal.
The whole process seems more stressful than I want to put myself through to be honest. My work buddy with the FHA loan I mentioned has been putting offers above asking in for almost 3 months now and lost every single one.
Purpose Of This Journal
I don't lead as exciting a life as some to garner much interest up in here and I lack the insight to write anything of depth or worthy of much discussion.* Ain't nothing wrong with that, just the way it is. Since I do so much talking about myself in here I wanted to quickly sum up for those of you reading what it's accomplishing for me. I'm mostly finding the journal to be motivating and a good perspective check. Publicly stating my goals and tracking my progress helps to keep me grounded and writing about my life forces me to examine it a little more deeply than only my lived experience.
I don't much like talking about things like my fitness, reading, or financial goals with many IRL as I think it mostly comes across as smug or hubristic and at the same time I also don't think anybody really cares. In reality the same rules apply here but I tell myself it's different since there's no social contract forcing you to listen (read) this journal (please stop if you're bored!). Being able to track those things in this "public" space gives me motivation on the days I'm lacking it. The journal helps with consistency in this regard.
As for checking my perspective. I definitely have strong glass-half-empty tendencies. Documenting my life, being able to reflect on where I'm at, where I was, where I'm going... it all helps me realize how good a thing I've got going and helps to keep me from getting bogged down in the negativity I'm all to good at latching onto. That's probably funny considering all the complaining I do in here, but it's true.
*In fact the things I've written that I thought might get an intellectual discussion going have so far been ignored!
Running
DR: 77 +4
MR: 432.3 +22.1
Reading
37. Overshoot - Catton
Who'd a thunk? The whole finite resources thing has always seemed pretty self apparent, though I definitely leaned more techno-optimist/cargoist before finding ERE. It's very interesting to read something explicating macro principles on the subject. Thanks for the rec, J.
A Quote
This is just a nice Vonnegut quote I stumbled across the other day.
Dear Old Nanno —
You’re learning now that you do not inhabit a solid, reliable, social structure — that the older you get people around you are worried, moody, goofy human beings who themselves were little kids only a few days ago. So home can fall apart and schools can fall apart, usually for childish reasons, and what have you got? A space wanderer named Nan.
And that’s O.K. I’m a space wanderer named Kurt, and Jane’s a space wanderer named Jane, and so on. When things go well for days on end, it is an hilarious accident.
You’re dismayed at having lost a year, maybe, because the school fell apart. Well — I feel as though I’ve lost the years since Slaughterhouse-Five was published, but that’s malarky. Those years weren’t lost. They simply weren’t the way I’d planned them. Neither was the year in which Jim had to stay motionless in bed while he got over TB. Neither was the hear in which Mark went crazy, then put himself together again. Those years were adventures. Planned years are not.
I look back on my own life and I wouldn’t change anything. . . .