day 38- anti-oxidizing candies that, just don't taste that great.

time is short and i am out off town. it's hard to blog when not all nestled in the pitt.

i found these green tea candies for a buck99. i am not one for the hard candy, but i could stand to be a little bit healthier. anti-oxidants would definitely be my friend if i let them. we tried them. they taste good at the start. then things go down hill.

spit.

i think maybe i will be taking my anti-oxidants via tea from now on. i will try to finish the bag, but i don't think i will be able to.

as i said, time is short. we are headed out to see the east brookfield fireworks show, but first some candlepin bowling. i've never done that, but my grandfather told me his first job was to be the kid who reset the pins. i can just imagine the guys at the alley.. drinking beer and throwing those small balls at my grandfather while he was just doin his job.

we will see how i do.

how hard can it be?

wrapping up.
538.10 at the start
a buck99 spent
the kitty stands at 42cent

maximum spending tomorrow

2buck6

i can spend that much tomorrow

you can't stop me.

day 37- a big ole bottle of rye.. or no fireworks are sold in the pioneer valley

happy fourth of july people.

i know you are all out there making preparations for some sleeepin' in, a cookout and some "i'm fine to drive to the fireworks... no really ocifer" driving. that's what america's birthday is all about right? i know there are parades, and some fond remembrance of what this country is.. what it stands for and where we came from, but everywhere you go on the morning of the fourth.. all the hot dogs are gone and the beer selection is down to raspberry lambics and mike's hard lemonade.

today, i headed up with the lady to the pioneer valley of massachusetts for her families weekend of celebration only to find that there is not a single speck of black powder for sale.

very dissapointed.

i made it through though. i "don't have to" set off my own fiery showers with retorts.

I would however prefer to do it myself. no matter how small, the pyro inside of me longs for a big old pile of low class fireworks for me to get my jollies with.

next year america i will not fail. i promise.

instead of the fireworks i did find the largest liquor store in new england, yankee spirits, on main street in sturbridge has more liquor than you can imagine. while it does not have every liquor and wine you could imagine, it is not gonna run out of the major players. i saw a display of 50 bottles of jack daniels. not the little guys. the big ones. the whole gallon jug.

50.
that's crazy.

in nyc, when we head off to the liquor store we say stuff like.

"let me have the 22 dollar bottle of jim beam." we then stuff our money under the the bullet proof window, get our change back and head for home. there is no selection. well not really one to speak of.

yankee spirits had aisles to browse in, fresh popcorn apoppin' and instead of pulling your beer our of the fridge- why not head into the back of the fridge itself where you can pick and choose which case of beer you want. all ice cold. all ready for you.

beware-the temperature drop does make you have to pee. (ok maybe it was just me)

things there were a bit pricy, but i was able to find this little gem of a rye bottle for a buck49. by itself it is not the best thing in the world, but i am on the lookout for a few drops of sweet vermouth to mix it with and then i will have the nicest little manahattan ever.

no manhattan ever tasted as good as when the government bought it for you.

damn straight!

wrapping up
540.09 at the start
a buck49 spent
the kitty stands at 71cent

maximum spending tomorrow

2buck41

i can spend that much tomorrow

you can't stop me

day 36- a middle of the road razor in pink. for the lady.

it can be a little sad when i go out there shopping for the day's purchase. really, what is out there for under 2 bucks? what can you really get that you need. everybody needs a razor.. every once in a while.

it would be more economical to buy these in a bulk pack. problem is, a bulk pack is a bit out of my price range.

i challenge you.

get out there and see what you can get for cheap. what you can get that is "good" for cheap.

if you live in a big city like i do, then it can be a bit difficult. food and snacks are easy, but things for the home at a bargain require some searching. one razor comes up to a buck63. i have some cash in the kitty. i could have gotten something "bigger", but the point is not to max out the kitty spending kitty "just because" it's there.

the idea is that you buy what you need.. or want. try to get it for a buck64. frown when you can't. smile when you can afford something because you have that little bit extra.

times are gonna get rough.

it's time to practice. think about what it is you need. don't go over unless you can extend the use of what you are purchasing.

i like to think of the utility of the items. sure food is fun and tasty, but fleeting. it sustains, but you cannot (unless its a calorie loaded fast food sandwich you will be burning off for the next five years) use it again. a razor can be used over and over. if your not to picky you can use the same one for a year. sure the shave will not be a clean one, but if you are like me and have white facial hair, then who is going to notice? this razor is not for me. its for the lady. she's showers here at the pitt. sometimes she forgets her razor? now she has one. she can use it over and over again.

it's got value. utility.

with june having ended and the year half done it always means it's time for the 4th of july. time for cook outs, fireworks, and if you are in a lucky year (and we are folks.. we are) a three day weekend.

who is working tomorrow. raise your hands? not many. what with the weekend right ahead of us we are all in for what could be a great three days. i am pretty sure that for the next three days i will be writing and no one will be reading. that's ok. just have a miller high life for me and a spicy hot dog to go with it. enjoy your weekend. you've earned it.

the job loss numbers for june came in today and it looks like we lost some.

62,000 jobs gone. half a mil for the year. as i said a few weeks ago, we are always losing jobs. its the new ones that help keep things going. america is just not creating new jobs.

this is a problem.

maybe not for you, but for someone out there. the stimulus package was supposed to help. but how does it help with jobs? i mean really help. if we all get some cash and then we spend it all at once how will we be helping the job market in the long run? companies will just keep the staff they have, run a better profit and a lower labor cost and when the cash is all gone and the stores slow down again they will lay off even more people. they will have a couple of good periods under there belt to make good for the year. what do they care?

it seems like it we are just extending our problems. taking a rain check. till the fall.

the cash does however give us a decent summer. a decent summer is important. a great summer would be fantastic. it can get hot out there and it would be nice to just have to worry about the heat and not stress about our jobs. that is what summer should be about. slowing down and enjoying the best part of the year.

this is not a good time to hate your job. not a good time at all.

i don't really like mine.. i could walk out anyday.. at any time... but i need to pay the bills. i can look, but the lookin' is hard.

i am concentrating on the good parts of the summer, and this weekend i am gonna forget about this whole economy thing. i'll still be out there spending a buck64aday. i have to do that, but i am gonna enjoy a little time in the country. massachusetts country.

i hope they have fireworks there.

big ones that explode right above my head.

they always seem to have those in the country.

wrapping up

541.58 at the start

a buck63 spent

the kitty stands at 62cent

maximum spending tomorrow

2buck26

i can spend that much tomorrow

you can't stop me.

day 35- now its time to scrub out that burnt pot.

these little guys are champs when it comes to cleaning up. they totally beat out any "non abrasive" scrubber i have ever seen. my parents swear by them and so do i. so will my kids and their kids.

if you bought one then you might too.

here is the story and inspiration of the dobie scrubber purchase and how it pertains to a buck64aday.

last week i bought a mini bamboo steamer for making up some dim sum at the pitt. if you are going to have some dim sum you are going to need some pork sung too right? after you steam your dumplings and you commence to the eating you are going to remember to shut off the burner so all that water doesn't boil away.

right?
wrong.

i left the burner on and all that water boiled away. they say nyc water is clean and healthy. a good friend of mine, who worked for the d.e.p. , always told me this. so then how come when the water boiled away it left this crazy burnt residue on the bottom of my pot?

ok maybe it was particles of the dumplings that fell into the water, but might it have been from the croton water that flows down to the lower east side?

it might. in the fall my water turns a brownish green color. it's the algae in the water. i am told it's safe.

send in the dobie scrubber. a little soap, water, a bit of elbow grease and the residue is gone. no muss, no fuss. thanks dobie. for a buck92 you kept my pot from being a throw away.

these thing are great not just for dishes, but for any kind of cleaning. they are even good for the exfoliating. it's a bit of a painful scrub down, but still very effective. with your dollar shrinking it's best to find ways to make do with what you have. no more disposable lifestyles.

we cannot afford them environmentally or monetarily.

really i would not throw away a pot until i was sure it is not salvageable. it's just not my way. actually i have a hard time of getting rid of most things. for some reason i think i might need it later. this is a great idea you would think, but although i save, save, save. my organization could use a little help.

really we should think about what we are throwing away and where it goes when it hits the curb. what is the impact?

it's easy to forget about it, and most people do. when you put your old couch out on the curb it usually disappears like magic in the next two hours. what about the junk? the stuff no one wants? it heads right off to the landfill with the baby diapers, the pringle cans and all those other non recyclables. take the time people. put it in the right place. give it to the right people. we can do it if we try.

its a good thing our lifespans are only 70 or so years. if we lived to be 200 we would all get to see the planet wrecked. the majority of the human race would sink into depression. visions of all the trash they "mishandled" running through their dreams like a kid's nightmare boogeyman.

think about the lcd tv revolution. last christmas i walked around brooklyn parts and everywhere you looked you saw big screen tv's on the curb, the packaging for the 32 inch lcd tv next to it like a beacon to anyone who might want to break into your apartment.

those tv's are piled high somewhere and mixed in with the tubes and wires are the coffee grounds and the diapers.

what a mess.

we really should have thought about tv disposal better. sure there are places you can drop off your old tv, but it would have been really cool if we put them all in one place. in the desert. lined them up as far as the eye could see. someone could have called it t.v. land. people would have come, they even would have bought tickets. i know i would.

your old tv has it's uses. turn it into a planter, a fish tank even a coffee table. i am still hanging on to my old tube. i don't need hdtv yet. i'm not there.

when i am, i'll dispose of it properly. i just wish the government would make it easier.

wrapping up.
545.13 at the start
a buck92 spent
the kitty stands at 61cent

maximum spending tomorrow

2buck25

i can spend that tomorrow

you can't stop me.

day 34- saving my coffee mugs... with crappy ashtrays

i have a slight coffee mug problem, or rather my caffeine issues lead along the path of leaving coffee mugs around. i rush around a lot, drink some coffee and then leave mugs in random places. mostly they head to the roof these days. i am a bit slack in collecting them and doing the washing. if they stay up on the roof for a couple of days they seem to inevitably become ashtrays.

dirty, nasty brown water filled cups of nicotine, ash and the hint of menthol. throw in about 30 empties on the table and you have what we call "sunday" here at the pitt.

when you have a nice habitable roof deck like we do in the lower east side it becomes the before the bar meeting place or "after party" central. my neighbors and roomates really keep it pumping. i hope that with these strategically placed cheap ashtrays i can keep my coffee mugs from the horror that is saturday night. at a buck08 they might do.. or they will become items launched on the wind by some "australian idol" winner.

around here you never know.

i like my coffee mugs. i really do. they have cheesy slogans on them... found like treasure at second hand stores and garage sales.

they have cool things on them like-
"cooter's garage", "i'd rather be having a beer", "living with a swede builds character" and the newest addition "moonshine" (which features a unch of cartooney people mooning you on the mug). ok they are cool to me.

i wish nyc had more to offer in the odd coffee mugs section. i have lots of money to spend on them something like 540 dollars left for the year. anyone out there want to help?

speaking of coffee... starbucks is closing a bunch of shops. 600 of the poor peformers. this might put 1200 people out of a job, though they say they are going to place the workers in other stores. it seems that most of the stores closing are ones that are recently opened stores of poor or no profitability. a majority of them being located near an existing starbucks.

sorry people. those "secret" starbucks you used to go to will now be closed and you have to get in line with the rest of the schlubs.

does this mean they will close one of the starbucks at astor place in nyc? i don't know. if you don't know what i am talking about, then here is a description.

nyc... east village... astor place... there is a starbucks across from a starbucks. ok... they are separated by two avenues, but these avenues are really close together. you can walk from 3rd avenue and st. marks walk west and pass two starbucks in about 1 and a half minutes of walking. this includes the light change.

one is on 7th and lafayette. that would be cooper union. the other on third and st. marks. that would be astor place.

one is good for people watching and a dirty bathroom.

the other is good for people watching when its warm, as you can sit outside and breathe in the incense from the street vendors, listening to the rats scurry about in the the underbrush.

they like the madelines.

i doubt they are going to close either of these stores as they seem to be fairly profitable and are a mainstay of the east village/nyu neighborhood, but it would be nice to tell someone you are going to meet in front of the starbucks at astor place and actually know which one you are meeting in front of.

till then, tell people to meet you at the cube.

i've been getting a lot of traffic recently here at a buck64aday. for me this is a good thing. i really want to get this story out there and i hope you all are enjoying it. i did buy the dotcom for this on a whim so don't be surprised if i move on over to a real web page. right now its a redirect so if you type in http://www.buck64aday.com/ you will just come back here.

try it.. it's like a moebius loop

i really do intend to see this through to the end. it's important to me and i hope it is becoming important to you.

i have been told that my blogging is a bit long, but i keep seeing all these people read the whole thing. some people do it in one sitting. to those people i thank you for your time and to everyone, i hope i am entertaining enough on day 245 for you.

i also hope the economy rights itself by then... then again maybe not. after all this is a bit of a sardonic blog pointed at the "effects of an economic stimulus on a world superpower".

for now it seems the stimulus is working a bit.

in the end we will see.

wrapping up
545.14 at the start
1.08 spent
the kitty stands at 89cent

maximum spending tomorrow

2buck53

i can spend that tomorrow

you can't stop me.