Spending big before the layoff

In a deliciously Kafkaesque moment,yesterday noon I was fêted for my fifteen-year longevity at Our Beloved Employer: lunch out; a fine piece of paper with maroon and gold print on it, suitable for framing; and another cheap maroon-and-gold pin with a chip of a semiprecious stone in it.

LOL! I could hock my whole collection of cheap GDU pins for enough to buy about an ounce of Starbuck’s coffee.

What the heck. I ordered the most expensive meal on the menu: three sea scallops and a spinach salad.
w. 0. 0. t.

Next door to the overpriced restaurant, however, is an overpriced shoe store, the one whose clutches I evaded when Frugal Scholar clued me to Footprints. That outfit carries some very fine purses, none of which I have found for sale on the Web. Of late, I’ve been carrying a canvas shopping bagas a purse(a nice canvas shopping bag…). It’s getting a bit tatty. I really needed a new purse, all my old ones having surpassed the shopping bag’s state of tattiness. Realizing that after I’m laid off, a plasticene-leather tote from Target will be about the best I can afford, I ran in there and grabbed a mighty fine piece of style. Two hundred fifty buckolas! But I’ve got it in savings, set aside for exactly this sort of indulgence. And since the budget is $425 to the good, anyway, I can afford it out of cash flow.

Having that little gem sitting on the floor next to me was a bit of a comfort as I was pretending to be polite while sandwiched between Her Deanship and two of the institution’s most ruthless vice-presidents.

This is one of about a half-dozen items that need to get done or purchased while I still have some money. Videlicet:
-New close-up glasses
-Composter
-Security door for back entrance (or at least a decent screen door)
-Solid-core door for office, with strong deadbolt
-Painting the Investment House
-Resuscitating the yard at the Investment House

Glasses:In August we’ll have an open enrollment. At that time I could sign up for the university’s vision plan (assuming it’s still offered). If I delay getting glasses till fall, this would allow me to pick up a cheap pair before I’m canned in December. They use one of those nationwide chains of optical stores, which has a bad reputation. In Arizona you’re prohibited from buying a pair of glasses without getting an eye exam, which is not covered by health insurance and which I can’t afford just now (read, “because I highly resent that!”). All I need is a back-up pair, so I suppose they don’t have to be the best in the world.

Composter: I dearly miss the wonderful composter drum La Bethulia gave me. Smith & Hawkin has a similar bin, only it’s on wheels. That would be convenient. The one drawback to the deceased was that getting the compost out and hauling it across the yard to the various gardens and gigantic pots could be a chore. Problem: Smith & Hawkin wants more than $200 for this wonder.

Security: The kitchen door is the most vulnerable entrance to the house. To break in, all you need to do is tap out a glass pane, reach in, and unlock the door. The vinyl screen door is a flimsy piece of junk that won’t even keep out the flies. The locksmith suggested that if you use a room as an office, you can keep all your computer gear in there plus a safe with other valuables, and then put a deadbolt on that room’s door. Every time you leave the house, lock the door. Since the Mac is the only thing I own of any real value, that strikes me as a good idea. The interior door, however, is an airy thing that I could punch through myself with one swift kick, and so it will have to be replaced with a sturdier model.

Paint: I probably could paint part of the investment house myself. But I don’t have the physical strength to do the eaves and back patio. Greg the Handyman wants $1,500 to do the job, about $600 more than Bila the Bosnian Painter’s bid. I’m thinking we need to call Bila and get that done while we can afford it.

Yard: With Gerardo’s help, I probably could do a fair amount of upgrade to the Investment House’s wrecked landscaping myself. Gerardo would need to regrade the driveway and lay new gravel. Ideally, we should jackhammer up the pathetic walkway, but I think I can pretty that up simply by laying a bed of river rock next to it. For not very much, Gerardo would till and seed the front lawn, a major improvement. I think some blue fescue or something along those lines would grow under the carob tree, and a second tree strategically planted near the unhappy walkway would cast enough shade on the front window to save a few air-conditioning dollars. In the back, I intend to build another vegetable garden for my use, since I’ve run out of growing space at my own house. As long as I’m gardening back there, I might as well build a couple of brick-on-sand or flag-on-sand patios, too.

Taken together, these will add up to some bucks. But if I string them out over the next few months, I should be able to afford most of it without having to raid savings. Especially if, as hoped, Scottsdale and Paradise Valley community colleges hire me and max out the number of courses I can teach for the district next fall: the net of about five grand will go directly into savings, easing the need for me to pinch pennies between now and the New Year’s Eve layoff.