I know it’s been a while since dropping a line here, but I’m just gonna’ make a long story short. And you can thank and email notification from the forums about a Doctor, um... Snubnose (?)
for drawing my attention back here :DMy debt has grown out of control. At one point it topped out near $17,000 and given my income that was far more than could be managed on a month to month basis. I have taken a second job at a language school teaching English and mathematics to ESL students. While this job has been the most fulfilling work I’ve done in my whole life, it has also allowed me to blast away sizeable chunks of debt each month and now my credit card is down into the $13,000 range. But this was not done with a second job alone.
I have had to stop buying knives, kitchen gadgets (thankfully I picked up a super-discounted Foodsaver just before coming to that realization), and other non-necessary toys to keep the debt from increasing. Just a few days ago I had to resist the urge to buy a Woodlander I found with massive discounts down to $130, and at the same time had to pry myself away from the $40 Swick. ****, my heart tried to beat its way out of my chest just thinking about NOT buying those things for such GREAT prices! But that’s when I REALLY realized that I had [have] a problem, and a serious one at that. I’ve always known I was fiscally irresponsible, but it’s never hit-home like it did the other day.
It is for that reason alone that I have not been frequenting the forums, and will not be until the magical number reaches ZERO. Indeed my knifebrothers and knifesisters are always good company and I’ve missed you all, but youn’s offer-up a great deal of temptation to spend money, and there comes a time in a guy’s life when he’s got to take control of his financial future. Despite all that, dropping off the face of the Earth without any notice was really messed-up (aye, there’s other far more appropriate and colorful choice words to describe that, but we’re still in Sal’s livingroom
)But…Starting today I will allow myself one week of indulgences in the evening to hang out here and catch up on things because I really do miss everybody… the lurking, the discussions, the rants, the quickly extinguished sparks of martial arts debates, the inside info on new toys *SMACK* BAD JEFF, NO TOYS… er, I mean the thrill of seeing new models for the first time, the occasional perhaps obscure references to naked aardvarks, banana hammocks, Elmer Fudd and other Looney Toons, etc.
Come time to sign off on Saturday, though, signing back on or even so much as lurking will not be an option for me until my debt is completely paid.
It feels good to be back even for a short time, and I look forward to catching up and getting to know everybody new.
-Jeff
