Ms. Smarty Pants Know It All

One of my biggest fears is to be old, broke, alone, and afraid. I wonder why more people don’t feel and fear this eventuality.

Perhaps if they read No One Writes to the Colonel, they will.

This is an extremely short novella. In these hundred or so pages, Nobel Prize winning writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez paints a picture of a man’s desperate existence vividly.

Is it pulse-pounding? Is it full of twists and turns? Is it a page-turner?

No it’s not. It’s not in the way that life usually is not. It’s not in the way that especially senior life is not.

The central couple in the story is in states of perpetual waiting. The Colonel is waiting for his long-promised pension and a sure-to-be-champion rooster to come due. His wife is waiting for him.

Until something happens, they just have to make it day to day—figuring out food, fuel, their social status in a small town—while knowing that their days of action are behind them. Their days of having something happen are behind them.

This is not a happy book.

1% Well-Read Challenge status: nine completed, one to go.
What’s In A Name Challenge status: six completed, zero! to go.

Tags: Books by Ms. SP
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It’s been a while since I’ve had one of these recommendation posts. These are worth the return:

• A beautifully written post from quiet paws. I have a couple of generalist blogs that I read, and I must say, as a generalist myself, that as a whole I usually find them more interesting than the topic-specific ones.
• Bones is nowhere as reliably entertaining as it once was, but I’m intrigued by Zooey Deschanel’s guest appearance. I love the way Emily Deschanel speaks as her Dr. Brennan character. Will two Deschanels be quirk overkill?
• In the duh-why-didn’t-I-think-of-that category, I just learned to use Costco cash cards to get around the AMEX as the only credit card policy.
• And since gift cards (made of pvc) are not really recycle-friendly, I’m going to point everyone to Earthworks. They turn used-up gift cards into new ones. Get together with your friends and family and send in a batch.

Tags: Recommendations by Ms. SP
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Last year, I felt I spent too much money on Christmas presents. I decided to see if I could focus on using my Discover Card cash back amount to stave off the January how-much-do-I-owe!? shock this year.

Since my November statement just got sent, I can announce my results.

I cashed in $100 in cash back money for four gift cards. I have $5 and change left in the account. That doesn’t seem like a lot I know. This wasn’t my expectation either.

In a way, I’m happy because this means I actually spend less than I think I do. I focused on putting more purchases on this particular credit card throughout the year and all I ended up with was $100.

For me, I’m not going to try this strategy again. Even though I’m pretty frugal, I did find myself spending unnecessary money because of the cash back justification.

It’s just better to be smart throughout the year, save for holiday gifts as if they were a larger purchase, and be sane at Christmastime.

I hope my four gift card recipients will like their presents though. I think they fit well.

Tags: Money by Ms. SP
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