Update XX: A Darn Good Judge of My Financial Situation

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

This will sound like a broken record and probably will not be believed, which I can't blame, but I am going to try to eat better and start cooking for myself when I get up to Tulsa this weekend.  I'm going to start with the dishes I know, such as scrambled eggs, macaroni and cheese (stove top kind), and spaghetti and then branch out into other dishes as time goes on.  I'm not going to set any kind of elaborate goal just yet, I want to get started first before I set my sights on loftier goals.

NONE OF WHAT YOU SAID IS HEALTHY! YOU EPITOMIZE ALMOST EVERYTHING THAT IS WRONG WITH AMERICA!!! How can you be so ignorant about your health? Macaroni and Cheese is a combo of fat and carbs, you need to eat 3 Veggies (cheese isn't a veggie) and a protein and exercise and stop making excuses!!! omg!!!

Come on, now! Let's focus on the positive!

The scrambled eggs part is actually a great choice. If you really want to go crazy and cook yourself a full breakfast, find a lean breakfast ham, lean sausage or turkey bacon to add to the skillet. (Look for the word lean!) It's super easy to cook together with eggs -- you literally just add a slice of meat to the same pan you're making the eggs in. The added protein will keep you fuller, longer. And the small amount of fat that melts off the meat will mix into the eggs, making them tastier.

[IceSpear]

Wasn't 'e-commerce' Bushie's college major once upon a time?

Yes, it was, but like King said, it was 10-14 years ago.  E-Commerce is hard to get a job in, so I haven't really kept up with it, to be honest.  This is also why I had to switch to CAD, so I can actually find places to work.

What I'm wondering isn't why you don't have a job in it, but why you're apparently stymied by buying stuff on Amazon.

I'm not really stymied by it, I just prefer brick-and-mortar shopping.  To me, the internet cannot replace face-to-face interaction with a sales clerk or a cashier.  It may be more convenient to buy online, but I am concerned with people's jobs, so I don't want to indulge in things that replace people's jobs if I can get away with it.  This is also why I don't like to use the self-checkout at Walmart.

Plus, as everybody here already knows, I am old fashioned, I prefer face-to-face interactions.  That's the way it should be, IMO.

Concerned about people's jobs, yet do all your shopping at Walmart? There's no way you're a real person.

[IceSpear]

Jesus, Jeff ... isn't this just horribly depressing to say? Don't you want to do something about it!?

It's definitely not a pleasant thing to say.  I am trying to do something about it.  I just don't know how to gain those qualities.  You can't just go to Walmart and pick them up on sale.  They take time to acquire and develop.  What would you suggest I do to develop those qualities?

You actually can go to Wal-Mart and pick them up on sale, by starting out as an Associate and working your way up through Wal-Mart management.

You want a great job handed to you and you work that way when you have a job.

Again, I NEVER said that.

Your actions say it. You worth yourself >$15/hr starting for no reason. You left another job in the past because you weren't getting frequent enough raises for no reason. You chased after scam jobs that promised big payouts for no reason.

You want a head start on everybody else.

I'm worth $15-$20 an hour, but I don't pursue jobs that pay that high because there are none with my qualifications.  However, in order to pay ALL the bills I need at least $12 an hour and that's not too much to ask for my experience and qualifications.  I don't need to spend time on minimum wage jobs, not because they aren't good, but because they aren't adequate for my needs.  My goal is to get completely out of Mom's checkbook and I cannot do that for less than $12 an hour unless I cancel EVERY piece of entertainment and live in the 1940's with nothing to do except sleep.

So making $7.25 an hour and having to take out of Mom's checkbook is out of the question, but making $0 an hour and having to take out of Mom's checkbook is just fine?

[King]

Inspiring! This man stopped eating microwaved mac and cheese and switched to healthier homemade mac and cheese.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

So making $7.25 an hour and having to take out of Mom's checkbook is out of the question, but making $0 an hour and having to take out of Mom's checkbook is just fine?

[King]

So making $7.25 an hour and having to take out of Mom's checkbook is out of the question, but making $0 an hour and having to take out of Mom's checkbook is just fine?

Bushie's all or nothing. Either he gets his $200 cable package and $15/hour or he's a 1940s Luddite with $0.

[Brittain33]

This will sound like a broken record and probably will not be believed, which I can't blame, but I am going to try to eat better and start cooking for myself when I get up to Tulsa this weekend.  I'm going to start with the dishes I know, such as scrambled eggs, macaroni and cheese (stove top kind), and spaghetti and then branch out into other dishes as time goes on.  I'm not going to set any kind of elaborate goal just yet, I want to get started first before I set my sights on loftier goals.

NONE OF WHAT YOU SAID IS HEALTHY! YOU EPITOMIZE ALMOST EVERYTHING THAT IS WRONG WITH AMERICA!!! How can you be so ignorant about your health? Macaroni and Cheese is a combo of fat and carbs, you need to eat 3 Veggies (cheese isn't a veggie) and a protein and exercise and stop making excuses!!! omg!!!

Ok. To be fair, while none of this is healthy or good eating, it's still better for portion control and fat, salt, etc. to eat what you cook at home than what you get in a restaurant. It's hard to cook as unhealthily as at a restaurant.

[King]

I think you would get better portion control eating eggs or mac and cheese at a restaurant than cooking it yourself. Bushie will probably make a 5 egg omelete and cook the whole box of elbow pasta.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Bushie could do a lot worse than eating 5 eggs.

[King]

Bushie could do a lot worse than eating 5 eggs.

Theoretically...

[Joe Biden 2020]

Bushie could do a lot worse than eating 5 eggs.

I usually have no more than 3 eggs, fwiw.

[King]

"He who feeds me, does not control me. It is entirely my decision. You have NO RIGHT." -- Jeff Brown

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I wish Bushie would get on the diet I am on. I've never felt better and have more energy than I used to since giving up bread, rice, pasta, and all processed sugars. I didn't even need to diet, but health wise I think this is great.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Finally found my seventh application to apply at...

[King]

Aww sh**t cliff hanger.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

I wish Bushie would get on the diet I am on. I've never felt better and have more energy than I used to since giving up bread, rice, pasta, and all processed sugars. I didn't even need to diet, but health wise I think this is great.

Details, Dukey, details.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I wish Bushie would get on the diet I am on. I've never felt better and have more energy than I used to since giving up bread, rice, pasta, and all processed sugars. I didn't even need to diet, but health wise I think this is great.

Details, Dukey, details.

Details for Bushie? He won't follow any sort of change to his diet, we all know that.

[Joe Biden 2020]

It is 1745 and I'm about to start the car and head for Tulsa!!

[Lief 🗽]

Anyone else notice that Bushie has become virulently anti-Obama lately? Could it be because of his unemployment situation?

[WalterMitty]

bushie, i work in a grocery store.  i notice you like to think that occupation is beneath you.

i would just point out...im getting paid tomorrow.  when is your next paycheck coming in?

[Lief 🗽]

bushie, i work in a grocery store.  i notice you like to think that occupation is beneath you.

i would just point out...im getting paid tomorrow.  when is your next paycheck coming in?

[WalterMitty]

i also assume that bushie has not 'scaled back' the unnecessary super duper cable package in the unnecessary apartment?

[memphis]

Bushie's view of grocery stores is skewed because he only shops at WalMart. He may be surprised to learn that some groceries are quite nice places. My favorite is The Fresh Market. They have one in Tulsa. You should check it out. Another grocery, Aldi, which is not at all fancy, pays its workers very well.

[they don't love you like i love you]

Guys I don't think you get it. If Bushie is filling out applications and looking for jobs, then he's spending time outside of the apartment and doing something other than watching college football. So he's busy enough as it is. You expect him to work another 20-30 hours a week on top of that? Sheesh that's more than four hours every weekday, he might actually have to scale back on his TV watching and napping and not do them a combined 12 hours a day anymore! Lay off on the guy, he's far too busy.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

If you respected them, you'd be doing something ... anything ... in the downtime between jobs, or working two to get out from under them sooner. Take a cashier job now, work it full time, transition it to part time when your CADD job comes along and work both to earn more faster.

That's drive. That's determination. That's follow-through. When crisis strikes, you act and you overcome. That's what real people do, Jeff, to earn those qualities you said you want. How much respect would you earn in your parents' eyes if you got off the couch, swallowed your pride and worked double shifts at a 7-11 to pay them back and applied for CADD jobs like a mad man during your off hours. Again, the issue is, you're never in crisis. You know that, no matter how many times you fail, mom and dad will be there to pay the bills. That's crippling any ambition you may actually possess.

I can tell you - one thing worse on your CV than lots of short-term gigs... are big gaps in-between jobs. One thing I was advised (even though I was a student during the period in question) was to note periods of extended travel. Which accounts for a 4 month gap in my job history. Because I can tell you, while people will be saying "why does this guy keep losing jobs after such a short period of time?" they will also be saying "why does this guy spend long periods of time unemployed?"

Even if you want a $12-15 per hour job, keep looking, but rather than spending all day watching TV, planning on doing x, y or z and then sending in a few applications.... get a job, any job or even volunteer somewhere - anything to show that you weren't just focused on your career, but that you were focused on remaining employed and showing resilience and flexibility.