Let's be real.

I do not want to talk about my weekend. It was horrible. Family problems are everywhere and mine aren't any different from yours or yours or yours.

That said, after feeling low, down on myself and lethargic for most of the day, I realized it was almost time to pick up my roommate from the airport, as I'd promised her. Before I left, I jazzed up the apartment with birthday things - she turned 24 yesterday - and ran out to put the finishing touches on her gift.

I got to ACY -- it was a sweet ride down, a perfect day to drive, really -- and went all-out when I saw her. We gave each other the lamest, silliest hug, I got her suitcase in the trunk, I had an apple and a Coke Zero waiting for her, along with a birthday crown.

A long talk and a short ride later, we rolled back into Point and went out to dinner. A little later, it came up that CK's boyfriend bailed out on picking her up from the airport, and it had kinda let her down. She turned to me and said "You showed up and had an apple, a Coke Zero and a birthday tiara. No one knows me better than you do."

I could have laughed til I cried. My biological family will always be my family. But on bad, bad days like this, I find peace and comfort in friends that are, to me, like family. I am lucky.

Two weeks until France. Making my packing list? Oh you bet. :D

Financial Rant

I’m a bad blogger who doesn’t write nearly as often as I should.

Wow, April. 21 days until Paris, and 25 until my 2th birthday. I’m getting “old” or something.

So I wanted to share some thoughts concerning debt, the economy and all that other family dinnertime talk. I got into somewhat of an argument with my dad and cousin last night about the current state of things. I was explaining to him that the bracket of people that are myself and my sister’s age are way worse off than people his age.

My dad and cousin graduated college without nearly the costs and debt that Lauren and I got into. Everything was cheaper - even taking inflation into account. Even a 5-year difference is staggering: my sister made roughly my salary now upon graduation and was able to live in PA in a real apartment. With her salary in NJ, I live in someone's basement.

While it’s depressing and upsetting to see that my dad’s salary was chopped in half in 24 hours, to know that he had the rug pulled out from under him, at least he was working toward the light at the end of the tunnel. This generation never saw the light. Someone pulled the plug, and now we’re working toward a lot of nothing. Here’s no telling how retirement options, interest rates, and 401Ks will change. I don’t think we’re out of the woods, and I don’t see the light getting plugged back in. I envision myself always being poor, always strugging with debt. What if I choose to get married and have kids? What if I want to buy a house one day? None of this seems even fathomable, not in 5 years not in 10. It angers me.

Well, other than that, the Easter holiday was chaos as usual, but I baked a cake and topped it with fresh strawberries and home-made whip cream, thank you Olivia for the inspiration! Was going to originally do ladyfingers, but couldn't find a suitable kind. Here's the finished product:



Yum. OK, back to work, but more omorrow or tonight!