Pit Crew
Day 44 | $31,450 paid | $59,267 till freedom
I've been subconsciously wearing the same pair of contact lenses for a month and a half now, and I think that's because I don't want to pay for an eye exam and a new year supply of lenses before July. I bought the current supply at the beginning of May and it cost me $225 from webeyestore.com, and that's a chunk of change I'd rather not part with during NMHD.
I should have only 15 pairs of lenses left (29 weeks till May), but thanks to my conservation efforts, I have 18 pairs remaining, or enough to last me 36 weeks. That still won't get me to the end of June, so when I replace the current pair, I'll need to double the next pair's life to about four weeks.
I feel like I'm the fuel guy in a Formula 1 or Nascar pit crew. As a race car driver gets close to finishing a race, his pit crew is extremely careful about how much fuel they put in the car during his final pit stop. Too much fuel, and the car is penalized with excessive weight that will slow him down during the final crucial laps where he's fighting for a position. Not enough fuel, and he'll run out of gas or have to come in for a time-sucking pit stop.
Likewise, I'm trying to make things last as long as possible, but not to the point where it has a seriously negative impact on my life. The rear tires on my car that should probably be replaced, my work shoes that have seen much better days, my motorcycle bar grips that are shedding rubber, and now my contact lenses...stretching things out to the full extent of their useful lives--and potentially beyond--just so I can cross the finish line at the end of June running on fumes.
John's Moving
My roommate John is moving out at the end of November. That sucks. His original plan was to come work in Austin, rent a room out of a house, and leave his family behind in Colorado to sell their house. He was fully expecting to stay here through June because that's how long he expected it to take to sell his house. However, his house went under contract four days after he listed it. Then he made a Crazy Eddie offer on a house here in Austin that actually got accepted, so he's peacing out in a month and a half.
I'm pretty frustrated. He's the ideal roommate--mature, friendly, funny, clean, interested without being nosy, quiet, conscientious--so it'll suck to see him go. I was hoping that that particular incremental revenue stream was on cruise control, but clearly that's not the case. I'll probably start interviewing for a roommate in the middle of November.
I'll keep the interviewing process open to girls, but with the clear caveat that they shouldn't bother applying unless they are definitely cleaner than the average guy. Shame on me for assuming all girls are cleaner than guys, which was the main reason for letting Sarah stay her. She was the exception to what I thought was a rule, so now my guard's up. On the positive side, Sarah has done a 180 and so far, I'm happy to report, she's sustained it! Even when she had a friend visit for the weekend, they both picked up after themselves.