Sooooo po'
Yesterday I turned down:

-Breakfast with the Llamas at the Glenwood
-Coffee at Roma's
-Dinner with some Llamas at Olive Garden
-Seeing I <3 Huckabees at the Bijou

And postponed getting myself pierced. Again. Until next weekend.

I've been proud of my spending abstinence, even though in the long run, my poverty now will be negligible. I've lived nearly this whole month on my credit card with somewhere beween $40 and $60 in checking. I ought to make it out alive with about $520 on the card, half of it payable once I get paid at the end of next month.

Here's the super news:

As the government has decided to rape me because I'm a fifth-year senior, thus only rewarding me $4,800 in loans and $2,500 in work study to cover my $17,000 tuition (and thus forcing me to take out $11,000 in bank loans), I've decided to screw them back. I'm getting food stamps.

I attempted application once before and was rejected. Then I forgot all about why and decided I didn't need them anyway. I probably still don't NEED them; they won't SAVE MY LIFE, but they will be a big help, and this year I have the one qualifying factor I DIDN'T the last time I applied: work study. The only other year I've had work study was Freshman, and I got all my food from University Housing.

A hundred bucks a month from the government toward my groceries sounds like a perfect way to make ends meet.

And finally, as I feel I'm entitled to be thrifty, I have to bitch about a beef I had with Cafe Roma:

I took my own commuter mug and tea bag in when I went to meet Alex to chat, full-well knowing (and not caring) that they had a "No outside food or drinks" sign on the door. When I asked if I could have hot water, the guy behind the counter replied, "yeah, for fifty cents."

Excuse me? I understand protecting your space in the market as a small business. But I was there with a paying customer and was obviously asking for a favor, not a freebie. I've always been unimpressed with roma: their coffee isn't that great, their lounge not very comfortable and their counter people seem to be cocky and often pushy or too flirtatious, but I've supported them as an independent business that thrives NEXT to a Starbucks.

Sorry guys, now Starbucks has my business. At least they'll give me some friggin' WATER when I ask for it. Jeez.