Culture Shock

I'll be honest, since I've been out here I've been anxiously awaiting the moment when culture shock set in.

Let's face it, the San Francisco Bay Area is one of the most culturally diverse areas in the country. There's a large mix of Asian and Indian, with a growing Hispanic group, all mixed in with your run-of-the-mill Caucasian. I was expecting it all to be a little off setting. Not bad, mind you, but certainly unfamiliar and, well, foreign.

But, amazingly, that really hasn't happened. I've met a wide variety of people, and been in some parts of town that feel like you're walking through another country, but I've been more encouraged by it than anything else.

And the food is excellent.

But there was another part of this life that I wasn't expecting. A part that has snuck up on me, leaving me blindsided and a little weirded out. The world of using disposable income.

This has been something that I've been aware of happening to me. (I mean, who else goes six months without buying a couch? Right?) But I think it really hit home today when I bought a few new clothes, something I had been putting off for about six months or so. All totaled it was around sixty dollars, which really isn't too bad, but I almost felt dirty buying them.

Needless to say, I don't know how to live in a world with disposable income. I guess this is what you get after six years of scraping by in collage.

Why don't they teach courses in this?!?

Justin Shorts

I'm still leading the development of the front-end at work. This has caused many nights of frustration and many days of self-doubt. But things make progress and I have a presentation to give two Mondays from now.

I looked at my wardrobe and realized I have way too many black / earth-toned shirts. So I'm currently on a mission for color.

I need a haircut drastically. I'm investigating cutting it myself, but I don't know if I have the resolve.

It's True What They Say

It's true what they say about money. If you have it, people will literally (not literally) throw more at you. With this in mind, my new bank (Bank of America) has decided that I should have a new credit card with a $7,500 limit, 0% interest for the first six month, and 4% thereafter. It apparently also gives you money back, or rebates, or does your laundry and finds you a suitable marriage partner. This, of course, dwarfs my current credit line of $1,000 with some arbitrary interest rate (and it doesn't even do your laundry). Apparently they didn't even check my credit report. They're so sweet. I deposit my bi-monthly check and the teller just says, "Your pre-approved for a good credit card right now if you want it." So I reply, "Okay." And, after a simple John Hancock, it's in the mail.

I really don't see myself using this thing, but who doesn't want to feel $7,500 more powerful. Ah, the sweet smell of power. Now to go buy a small country or something.