telerib | RIP My Salad Years

In 2003, while still working on my PhD, I got a Real Job^TM that paid Real Money^TM. It took over a year for that to sink in, during which time I continued to spend money as if I were a Poor Grad Student. Even later, my regular spending habits tended towards the frugal, interspersed with large purchases financed by money saved during frugal periods.

I have to remind myself of that. I have not lived like a monk all my life. I have been to Europe three times for pleasure. I have purchased two professional-quality harps. I had the security of knowing there was money in the bank. I had the luxury of never needing to worry about dropping "just" $20 or $40 on "Cloth and Clothing in Anglo-Saxon England" or whatever my latest enthusiasm was. Sure, I'm wearing a (very flattering) shirt that was a Goodwill find and pants from Target, but I'm wearing gorgeous, comfortable handmade Lucchese Classics cowboy boots on my feet. And never an unpaid credit card balance.

It was a good run.

And now, we're embarking on a new run - also (hopefully) good, but in a vastly different way...