There's One Born Every Minute

Three items of interest in the past few days:

1. I went to the bank, opened up a student checking account, got a debit card, and, horror of horrors, got a credit card as well.

I know what you're thinking:
"Well, I guess that just about does it for poor Max. I'm sure he's already a few thousand in debt, getting deeper every day. Oh why oh why did he have to apply for that god-damned unholy devil credit card? Why Lord, why? Don't call him Peter, 'cause he can't go, he sold his soul to the company sto'."


Amazingly, I am not fiscally insolvent....yet. Believe it or not, I did not apply for this credit card so I could go on wild shopping sprees, then either A) declare bankruptcy or B) fake my own death and assume a new identity as a deckhand on a Canadian fishing boat.

In fact, pretty much the only reason I got this credit card was the John Blong theory on credit cards: responsible credit card use at a young age is the key to getting a good credit rating, which is in turn the key to getting low interest rates on things like home and auto loans in the future, which is in turn the key to universal happiness. I'm not sure if I buy the last step, but I really do think that having a credit card, using it once a month, and promptly paying off the entire balance is a good idea for most young people.

That said, everyone should sock away a few hundred dollars now so you can bail me out when I need some cash to get out of the country.


2. I am weighing my laptop options at this very moment. As of right now, the $1200 MacBook is the frontrunner. It costs about $400 more (with a RAM upgrade) than the technically equivalent PC option, but Apple is offering a $100 student discount, and a $100 printer rebate, and a $200 iPod rebate, so that pretty much wipes out the price difference. Most PC laptop owners do nothing but bitch about their computers, while most MacBook owners gush about their computers at every opportunity. So, as I said, all signs are point to Apple at the moment. Feel free to encourage/dissuade me as you see fit.


3. I volunteered at Battle of the Bands for my fourth and final time yesterday, and I have to say: best one yet. As a volunteer, I got in free and got a couple of free brats and a t-shirt, but thankfully, due to the superabundance of younger/more enthusiastic volunteers (i.e. bigger suckers) than myself , I was spared the onerus burden of having to actually, you know, "volunteer" or whatever.

I ran into three people unexpectedly, which is always nice: Tirth Patel, Pammy Ronnei, and Ali Jones. Tirth was volunteering, Pammy, with Brittany and Serena, was spectating (for about 9 minutes), and Ali was there performing, on cello, with Jesse Keller and his Toolbox. Honestly, you couldn't really hear much of the cello at all; I think it was mostly for show. They might as well have had a juggler and a sword swallower and a chimp up on stage.

On a slightly more humerous note, I managed to throw out my right shoulder while playing Frisbee. I just winged the thing too hard, and my shoulder kind of rolled and popped, and I wasn't gonna be playing no more Frisbee that evening. On the plus side, the Frisbee did go pretty far.