Buy a social life

Posted on December 3, 2004 No Comments

In my social world, it’s important to have enough money to cover the tab. My friends hang out in Chicago’s bars, pubs, restaurants and clubs. There are a few practical reasons for this, the most important being that none of us own a home – apartments are too small for gatherings and who knows how much damage will be incurred by our drunken antics (which sometimes involve breakdancing, oddly enough). Also, my circle of friends is not yet married, and bars remain the best spot for social connections (although lately it seems the Internet is not far behind). Plus, someone else cleans up – and after a long day at the office, housework is last on my list of cool things to do.

Last night I joined a few friends out for drinks at our local pub. We had no food left in our place, and we had an occasion to celebrate. So I charged our meals and drinks to my debit card and picked up cash from the group in exchange, thinking of how smart I was to not spend a fee at the cash machine. This fact automatically overrides the voice in my head urging me to invite everyone back to the apartment for drinks, where the liquor is cheaper. For me, I’ll go home to a clean apartment, enjoyably buzzed, and pass out, exhausted and happy – ignoring the dent in my wallet.

I recognize this today, and yet, I’m still primed to go out with my coworkers tonight and repeat the process. This is my urban life. Go out, spend money. Come home, regret loss of money. Repeat.

Maybe one day my life will be filled with little people – children, not midgets – running through the hallways of a huge house that I own, and I will no longer lament the loss of money I spend filling the subconscious void in my life with friends and liquor (that’s the psychologists’ reasoning, right?). But it’s a catch-22. Because in order for my life to be filled with the happiness and giggles that poopy diapers seem to bring to people, I need the money to buy the house with the yard and garage. I suspect those little people end up costing much more than a night out with the girls, anyway

Category: Life
   Tags: Spending

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