2003-04-06 - 12:59 a.m.

I'm pretty proud of myself.

Of course, my $800 tax refund is gone now, but I didn't blow it.

$500 went to my credit card. If you ever get a ton of cash all of a sudden, I suggest doing the same--the thing that kills me about credit cards is that they charge you so much just to have it, just to pay it back.

Infantile, I know, but I�m still angry.

I've been paying for stuff I bought years ago for years. If, two years ago, I had been a bit better with this stupid card, I'd be done with it now. But I was above money then. That's cool--I got my shit together with that now. The $500 payment today means that my monthly usual of $100 means more, cause they'll be charging me $35 a month rather than $45 a month. Hey, ten bucks, but it adds up.

So I also went on a spree. I spent over $200 today, and it was soooo great. None of it was impulse, really. In fact, everything I bought was stuff I had already decided to buy if I ever had money. Decisions made on the bus three months prior to purchase, in the shower last week.

Two extremely versatile dress shirts and a skimpy pair of boxer-briefs (for the summer, and I'll be so glad on whenever day I get to wear 'em) at H&M. $50. Problem is, I'll be seeing those two shirts (hopefully not the boxers) all around the city for months, but that's cool.

The Body Shop stuff. Yes, I�m a girl. $25.

Elliott Smith's Figure 8, Newbury Comics, $17. Was almost a Galaxie 500 CD, but I had to go with Elliott. If he's gonna be in the personal top five, I should have all his albums.

I waited so long to buy it for the same reason I waited so long to open my copy of Quasi's Field Studies--both are bands/artists that aren't likely to release much more content, and I have the rest of my life. Why not wait for marriage, or at least 'till the other albums are committed to memory and treasured and treasured and don�t you dare try to steal my baby from my arms.

Two record album frames (their cash cow) from Restoration Hardware--home of the $15 bottle of floor polish. I only needed one, but I'll take my chances, thank you very much. $25.

$10 for a prescription at CVS.

Dinna for the Roommate and me--I had been craving ribs for two unrequited months. Include vanilla bean cheesecake, two big Sams, and the awkwardness of being waited on by a former employee. $50.

On the way home, picked up a thingie of Maker�s Mark. That�ll last me a year, unless a guest takes a liking to it, and if so, so be it. $25.

I got my Seagull fixed at a guitar store in Davis. $35. I�m pickin� that up tomorrow.

That�s it. I�m back to zero. No sneakers to show for it, but I�m pretty proud of myself. I survived the have money feeding frenzy and I have no regrets. You shouldn�t either.

Um, �cause it wasn�t your money. That�s why.