Oh Brutality, Thy Name Is Gotham!

Yesterday, it was drinks with people whom share my office space. Today it was drinks with a person I've been sharing my home space. All I know is that next week will be a long one of no spending.

After work last night we went to Happy Hour. It was only moderately happy. Our waitress was unconcerned. She made no attempt to engage us as her customers and even less to service us in a manner that would've been acceptable, if not proper. Nothing gets me quite as much as bad service. Is it so hard to talk to the people in front of you? Shame on that waitress for treating us like drinking machines that she only need feed the right blend of potables, for by not acknowledging us as people, she also reduced herself to the level of automaton. Poor drink tossing robot, you get only measly monetary input.

After the Happy Hour which was really just a sort of "Thank-god-work-is-done-for-the-day" hour, I went home and stopped by the grocers to buy a few zucchinis. Back at mi casa, my guest was busily working on her resume. A great thing if you live in New York, but bad form form if you're visiting. One must go out into the city. Though with it being 104 degrees heat index, I don't blame her. So in the hot, hot apartment I boiled water for pasta and made a decent pasta dish. All the steam set a sweaty glisten upon everyone.

Later a couple of friends showed up with a Scrabble board. Crazed spelling and sangria drinking ensued. I don't know what the deal is with Sangria but it is becoming a feature in my life. I'm not even Spanish. I have to say one of the highlights was my spelling of the work "zonk." It was challenged, and poorly so, for "zonk" means "to stupefy" and my opponents were zonked at my use of the word. I won by a narrow margin.

The night ended followed by rain. And what a rain it was. It flooded all the subways, making morning travel impossible. I got to work more than 2 hours late. After work I had an interview for a second job. One of the stranger interviews I've ever had. I had to respond to scenarios, role play and then actually work. I left with a "We'll call you," but I'm sure I did fine and will get an offer. So that should bring in some extra dough. I must say I was a little uncomfortable when this relatively good looking young woman told me that she wanted to role play, and that it was her favorite part of the interview. I'm all about role playing myself but I like to get to know someone first.

After I got back to the Barrio, my visiting friend who was mysteriously gone called me. She wanted me to join her down town. Which I did. We hung out at the Blind Pig where a scantily clad young vixen offered us free drinks if we offered her and her friend a pick up line. I obliged of course. We ate some jalapeño poppers and dumplings. Neither all that spectacular. Still it cost and I must stop with the costs.

Here's what the last 2 days have been about:

Starting Balance: -$60.25

In: $20

Out:
Happy Hour: $8
Zucchinis: $1
Blind Pig: $15
Gum: $1.25

Balance: -$65.50

Free Furniture, No Interest, and Sangria Times

Well, it's a little past check in time and I've been at a bar, drinking. "How?" you may ask, well generous friends who happen to know generous bartenders is one asset I have acquired in my short time in the city.

Today I wanted to explain a bit about my credit card bill. You know, the one I'm trying to pay off. You see, I don't pay any interest on the current card. This is because credit cards often run promotional rates that are nil for the first twelve months. Almost all banks in the credit card business do this. They offer you an easy year, expecting you to go hog wild and leave them with a heap of owed money that they can then rape you with using interest. But banks are egotistical enough to believe that there is no competition. To prove my point, I have on at least two occasions, called my previous credit card company and asked them to drop my interest rates to zero. My thought process was, "Hey, I've been with you for years, I'm just asking for a twelve month suspension of interest charges. Every time I log on to your account, you're offering every johnny-come-lately a no-interest special. I've been with you for years, why not offer the same deal to a friend rather than a stranger?" I've tried this tactic a few times, the most I ever got was a few points reduced on my over all interest rate, which may help you if you don't feel like switching cards. Keep in mind that switching cards can affect the quality of your credit rating, an important number when you want to take out loans or buy a car. Needless to say, I've transfered my balance to a bank offering no interest for 12 months, and, much to their chagrin, I plan on paying it off on time. If you have some spare time, I highly recommend wrestling with your credit card company over the same issue. Explain to them that you could easily switch over to a no interest account and that they should give you the same deal or lose a client. It doesn't work well at all. But it's fun to listen to phone clones stutter.

Today I had the most marvelous piece of luck. I went to my super to ask if she had a vacuum cleaner I could borrow. The answer was, as always, long, complicated, and totally my fault. In this case the problem was that I didn't ask four days ago. Apparently there was a brand new vacuum cleaner available because a tenant recently vacated their apartment and left nearly everything behind. I was led upstairs to an almost fully furnished room and told that I could have what ever was there. By simply inquiring, I managed to snag a book shelf, a coffee table, and an entertainment center. My apartment is beginning to look practically respectable. Lamenting my loss of the vacuum cleaner the landlady said, "I put it out on the sidewalk and a half an hour later, that shit was gone," The last word was accompanied by a dramatic spreading of the narrator's arms. You'd think that vacuum cleaner was gold, the way she fussed. I love my super. How many New Yorkers can say that?

After installing the new furniture and cooking a lentil/barley soup, (for which I had to buy a $2 bag of onions) I got a call from a friend urging me to come down to Union Square. Fortunately, she understands that I am now THE Gotham Frugal and offered to buy, so I got down there to get fairly buzzed off of some strong sangria.

Eventually I made it home, desperate as always to bring you...

THE DAILY BREAKDOWN

Starting balance $3.25

IN : $10

OUT:
Onions: $2

Ending balance $11.25