Veteran’s Day Repost – Pawning Shit

In honor of tomorrow being my 500th post on this blog, I thought I’d repost my very first entry in this blog from October 4, 2003.

Today, I pawned my viola. I don’t ever play it anymore. The only reason I had it was because my Grandparents paid for private school first through eighth grade and playing an instrument was a requirement. They only gave me $25 for it but that was all I needed. Frankly, I was afraid they’d give me more, so I’d have to give them more to get the damn thing back (so I can pawn it again… duh). I’m getting money from my dad on Monday and I get paid on the tenth, so I can buy it back for thirty if I do so within the month. I needed gas money. I had thought about spanging (panhandling) somewhere around here but I thought it might be suspicious and unprofitable for some homeless looking punk rock kid hanging out on the sidewalk with a sign that said “need beer”, doing Pre-calculus with a hundred dollar calculator. A calculator I paid nothing for, by the way. The one my mother bought for me in high school was stolen practically as soon as it came out of the box. I rented one from the school until I found the one I have now in my bag during senior year. I asked around and checked it for marks, but no one claimed it so now it’s mine.

College is making me feel like a drug addict. Everyone I know has been hit up for money and/or food. Of course no one has any, but I’ve got my ways. I can always use that “need beer” sign on a day when I don’t have math homework, lot’s of homeless people read Voltaire.

The most interesting thing here is that I once lived in a world where $25 was a decent amount of gas money.