The Value of Free Time

It's only when we lose our beloved free time that we suddenly begin to appreciate its value. Acquiring a job that you have no attachment to can have that effect on you.

There are only 24 hours in a day and we sleep through 6-8 of them. Work occupies another 10-12 hours which includes getting ready for work, traveling to work, actually working, and coming back from work. This leaves us with only 6-8 hours of free time in a day (maybe). No wonder people are so upset when they go into work on Monday.

On the weekends however we might experience the exact opposite feeling of not having enough time in our day: having too much time. This morning I woke up with a case of the weekends.

A Bad Case of the Weekends

Have you ever woke up thinking it's the wrong day? I thought it was Friday part-2 this morning and flipped out when I saw it was 9:30 AM. My heart raced fast at the thought of being lectured at or fired for being late but then my mind woke up and I realized it was Saturday. What a sad name for a day, Sadurday. They should rename it to Gladurday.

People make weekend plans during the week, not on the weekend. If you haven't made any weekend plans by now then you're probably not going to do anything at all. At this point your Gladurday is halfway wasted and you've gotten little to nothing accomplished. Oh well, who cares. Good thing for Sunday! And then you'll spend the rest of your Gladurday planning for Sunday.

Planning for the Unplanned

In two weeks my temporary employment will end. I'm going to have unlimited free time once again! But what will I do with it? I won't take it for granted again, that's for sure.

Working a full-time job reminds me of how much I dislike working for people. When you're on the clock you're on their time. One day I'll be working on my time though. That's a promise.

~Anthans

Coupon Hoopla

I used to write for my college's newspaper, The Daily Trojan, nearly three years ago. My pieces were published in the opinions section but not every piece I wrote made it there. Here's one that never made it to print. Self e-publishing will have to suffice.

Coupon Hoopla

With the added expenses of books, lab fees, rent, tuition, and other required expenses, college students often find themselves scrounging through the remains of their disposable income in order to purchase the most important of all necessities, food.

Instead of hunting for sales at the supermarket or outlining a budget for the month a college student will instead see the value menu at Jack-In-The-Box or the Dollar Menu at McDonalds as the most efficient way to spend the few dollars left in their wallet. This is unfortunate because there is so much more that a dollar could go towards in terms of efficient allocation for food purchases.

Sure the dollar menu at McDonalds will keep you fed for lunch at the low cost of three dollars for a McChicken sandwich, a double-cheeseburger, and a hot fudge sundae, but what’s for dinner? Did somebody say Jack-in-the-Box value menu; two tacos for 99 cents, “I’m there!” College students should see that these expenses do eventually add up, even when it may seem that the value menu is saving you money. It’s not.

And if you’re thinking right now that you’re past the frugality of the value menu and that Panda Express and Bistango’s Cafe are the only premium choices for you, think again; it’s from eating at these higher priced restaurants which will bring you crawling back to the value menu, the week before your next paycheck arrives.

Due to having lived in a non-university apartment without a meal plan last year as a sophomore, I was forced to provide for my own food. And with the money I had set aside for food I soon found out that the smartest alternative for sustenance was to shop at the supermarket.

I started basic in my new found independence for buying my own groceries, but then again, who doesn’t? I bought elementary items such as bread, milk, water, and eggs. It continued like this for a while, that is until I discovered the magic of coupons.

Coupons are a lot more useful than most of us usually tend to assume. The first thing that typically came to mind when I first thought of coupons was middle-aged moms hunched over clipping along dotted lines on a Sunday afternoon. Until I investigated the usefulness of coupons myself, I had always thought negative of them as I figured people would perceive me as being cheap.

I know now that cheap is the entirely wrong adjective to describe coupon users; we’re smart, not cheap, and I’ll explain to you what that is.

Every Sunday for the past six months I have clipped coupons from Smart Source, Valassis, Proctor & Gamble, and General Mills coupon booklets. These booklets can all be found in every Sunday copy of the Los Angeles Times; all of which are packed with savings. These booklets should be recognized for their usefulness in being able to acquire items from the supermarket at a significantly lower price than that which is advertised.

The message on a coupon will typically read something like “save 55 cents on any box of Eggo Waffles” accommodated by an expiration date written by a box that says “manufacturer’s coupon.” This 55 cents savings may not sound like much at first, but, when taken into the context of double coupons, there is much to be gained.

For as long as I can remember Ralphs has offered its customers the chance to “Double Coupons” for increased savings. Although often misunderstood, coupon doubling is exactly what you would expect it to be; the 55 cents off a box of Eggo’s coupon mentioned earlier would be doubled for a total savings of $1.10 off the waffle product. That’s a 100% increase in savings every time you shop with coupons at Ralphs. These doubled savings can be especially useful when Ralphs brings popular items such as Eggo Waffles down in price and even more savings are realized.

My cheapest Eggo Waffle purchase was 90 cents after Ralphs club savings and a double coupon. This lower price was a combined result of double coupons and Ralphs Club savings.

Ralphs however will only double coupons for up to the value of $1.00. After coupons start to exceed $1.00 such as “save $1.50 off any Crest Toothpaste,” the doubled value of the coupon will only be $2.50. That’s still good though, considering how much you would have paid without the coupon. In toothpaste situations I’ve spent as little as 50 cents for toothpaste that might ordinarily cost $3.99.

Coupons also allow me to try all sorts of different varieties of products that I might not have ever ventured out and purchased on my own. I’ve bought all sorts of different exotic items as a result of using coupons including purely squeezed orange juice from Tropicana, new acne treating products from Clearasil, and several flavorful choices of ice cream from Dreyers.

With using coupons at Ralphs there is also another benefit to be reaped which has been kept a hidden treasure for too long: the reality of getting things for free. It’s true, you can get stuff for free too when you shop at Ralphs and use double coupons; that is of course during the right sales week.

Items I’ve received for free include toothbrushes from G.U.M, cookie dough from Nestle, and delicious smoothies from Dannon.

By no means was this article written to cater to or promote the companies that I mention above. I just want to illustrate how real coupon usage can be and the savings that are realized from it. By applying incredible saving situations to familiar brand names I feel that my story will be more believable to others.

Some people will still laugh at me for my coupon craze, but I don’t mind. They’re probably still stuck in their everlasting downward spiral of fast food splurging.

Others won’t listen to me when I tell them about the benefits of coupons, but I can still hear them, hear them as they whisper to each other when they see me walk down the aisle of a store with my coupons in my cart, “is this guy serious?” If they should ever read this, they will know that I am serious.

I’m serious about smart and efficient spending when it comes to surviving in college. Coupons not only keep me alive but now I also have something to look forward to every Sunday morning.

It’s almost become a hobby, really, especially with the motivation in mind to save more money than the last time I visited Ralphs with coupons.

My current record holds at walking out of Ralphs with $94.25 worth of groceries while having only paid $35.47 for them, attributed to the usage of coupons and Ralphs Club savings.

I encourage anyone to beat my record.

~Anthans

Don't fear change, embrace it

"Don't fear change, embrace it"

-Anthony J. D'Angelo, The College Blue Book

The only thing to fear is blah blah blah, etc., etc.

I haven't purchased a new video game system since The Nintendo Gamecube came out. Despite the pressure I receive from friends to purchase a new system the only games I play now are Worms for XBox Live and Halo 3. I'm not caught up on the Final Fantasy Series, God of War craze, Mario Sports Series, or the Wonderful World of Warcraft (like I'd want to be). However, one of the great franchises I've always tried to follow is Smash Brothers.

Released in 1999 Smash Brothers was a revolutionary addition to fighting games. It went beyond the 2-D ground fighting characteristic of games like Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter and introduced platforms to jump on, weapons to throw, and simple attacks that catered to both button mashers and gamers alike. The controls and gameplay took some getting used to but eventually I mastered it on my own Nintendo 64. In 2001 the sequel was released, Super Smash Brothers Melee. I bought a Nintendo Gamecube just to play it and to my surprise the gameplay changed dramatically from the original. The game had evolved. The physics were different and each character I had mastered in the original had to be relearned. After weeks of sleepless nights I too mastered this Smash Brothers game.

In 2008 the most recent edition of the Smash Brothers franchise, Brawl, was released for the Nintendo Wii. My interest at the time was piqued but not enough to purchase a Nintendo Wii. Here's why. Before its release in 2008 I got a preview of the game at my friend's place. To my surprise the gameplay had once again changed and there was a new set of characters to get used to as well. My friend and I sort of just sampled the game through versus matches and I didn't spend ample time learning the new mechanics of the game. Within an hour or so of game sampling my interest had faded and my nostalgia for the last game of the series, Melee, had intensified. I didn't feel the obligation of learning a new way of playing because I liked the way things were before the new game. I was fearing change rather than embracing it.

Last night (nearly a year later) I played Smash Brothers Brawl with another friend who owns the game. He purchased the game last year and had mastered it to the same degree as I had mastered the previous games before. Because I was a veteran of the previous two games I was able to hold my own against him. He played as Toon Link and I went with my favorite for the night, Lucas. We played with three-stock lives and limited items. The match boiled down to one life each in the end. It was close but it concluded with the more experienced gamer winning, my friend.

In the end I realized that I had been avoiding change. I avoided it because I was afraid of it. My friend, on the other hand, had embraced it. He too was an avid follower of the Smash Brothers Series and had evolved with the game. I was stuck in the past. I'm ready to embrace change now though, especially with Smash Brothers Brawl. Now, if only I had enough change in my pocket to buy a Wii and Brawl.

~Anthans

A New Era

As I sit here typing, in my rearranged room, on my newly acquired computer, with a renewed optimism in life, I prepare my mind for the next era it's about to enter.

End of an Era

If you've known me long enough then chances are I've probably tried to communicate to you the idea of "Eras" in our lives. If you're not familiar with the idea or you've forgotten then let me explain.

Whether it's at work, school, or something in between, things in our lives will never feel, sound, taste, or appear the same as they once were in the past. Different classes in different semesters of college will welcome new faces, new experiences, and new memories. Relationships begin and then end, whether romantic or platonic. Everything that happens within these "eras" of time, whether sour or pleasant, will remind us of the way things once were. Music, food, scents, people's faces, and our surroundings will be ingrained in our minds as things associated with a specific era of time.

The last era of my life just ended. 

For the past 5 months I have not been working but rather hanging out instead. About 4/5 of that time was spent trying to relive my college past. Of course I looked for a job along the way, too. But in these times, work doesn't come so easy. Now that I've found work though I can sense a huge shift about to take place in my life. It's a feeling that we're all familiar with. Right before you began a job or enrolled in something extracurricular, at one time, you felt this same premonition. I'm having it right now and I'm announcing it to anybody that will read about it. 

Watch out world, here I come. 

~Anthans

Unpaid Internships: Where are they?

Anywhere you go today you'll meet some douche talking about how bad the economy is. People who continually talk about how much the country is in the shitter are not helping. Their negativity will affect you and chances are you'll go and tell 10 more people that week about the latest shitty news. We need less negative Nancy's and more positive Paul's if we're ever to recover from this slump. In times like these we need to think of the brighter side. After all, gas is half the price of what it was last summer.

Today there are over 2,000,000 people unemployed in California. This number is more than double what it was last year. I contribute to 1/2,000,000 of that number.


Experience Paying Opportunities, AKA Unpaid Internships

Sometimes people will do anything for a job, even if it means working for free. Unpaid work should only come in the form of volunteering. Although we've seen or heard about many unpaid internships, not many exist. Typical unpaid internships award you in the form of school credit or hands on training that can help you enter the industry of your choice. However, in the case where interns obtain hands on experience and are not paid for it, California labor laws are violated.

In order for an internship to be unpaid the following criteria must be met:

1. The training, even though it includes actual operation of the facilities of the employer, is similar to that which would be given in a vocational school;
2. The training is for the benefit of the trainee;
3. The trainees do not displace regular employees, but work under close observation;
4. The employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the trainees and on occasion the employer’s operations may actually be impeded;
5. The trainees are not necessarily entitled to a job at the completion of the training period; and
6. The employer and the trainee understand that the trainees are not entitled to wages for the time spent in training.

Special emphasis needs to be given to number 4. Most of the time unpaid interns DO perform activities that give their employers an advantage, such as filing, cold calling, or any other menial task that they should be getting paid for. If any of these criteria are not met then, by law, the employer is required to obey California labor law and dish out a minimum wage, overtime pay, etc. This is why few unpaid internship actually exist.


Paying for Unpaid Internships

It sounds absurd, but people actually pay for the opportunity to acquire unpaid internships. I came across this hideous concept when I found out about the University of Dreams. The University of Dreams is a program that allows students the opportunity to acquire unpaid internships in the field of their dreams! By placing the student in a popular economic region like New York, Hong Kong, or London students pay an exuberant fee (upwards of $5000) to experience the working world. The fee includes room and board, transportation, meal plan, and planned group outings. It's summer camp for older spoiled kids!

Here is the University of Dreams' mission statement:


University of Dreams is a company of Dream Enablers. Our mission is to positively change culture on a mass level by identifying and recruiting Dreamers globally so that we can inspire, equip and challenge them through our products, services, charity and encouragement to discover and pursue their dreams. It is our dream to enable 1,000,000 Dreamers by the conclusion of 2020.


You don't have to pay a handsome sum of money to dream. Even if it involves a legitimate unpaid internship I still think this program is bogus. Somebody needs to wake up these Yuppie dreaming parents and tell them to tell their kids to go out and get an internship on their own. Are people that pathetic that they need to pay for something that would have cost them nothing, just to save themselves the expense of trying on their own? I used to think working for free was an outrageous concept, but paying to work for free? That truly is an American idea.

~Anthans

Another Day

"Another day, another foot in the grave."

My dad said this to me just now. I asked him "dad, how many feet do you have?"

People shouldn't look at life this way. Another day should mean another opportunity to fulfill your dreams, whatever those may be. For me it's following my to-do list. Sometimes it takes me days or even weeks to carry out my to-do list. In fact, I need to keep a constant reminder for myself on my phone of all the things I need to do. Here's what's on the desktop of my phone right now.

-Student Loan
-Clean Room
-Clean Car

The student loan part has been on there for weeks now. The last two are the latest additions. Why is it we need to keep everything clean all the time? It's as if we were maintaining a show room all the time. When clutter and dust begin to build up it makes us feel bad. We find ourselves cleaning a lot more than we thought we ought to be and the cycle is always beginning anew.

~Anthans

Reading and Writing Styles

These days I have time to do a lot of things, if I really wanted to. I devote a lot of that time towards reading. It's funny, I never used to enjoy reading. I would only read a book if I had to like if it was for school or an assignment. Now I find myself reading for pleasure. I usually read at least one book a week now, sometimes two. After completing each novel I find my opinions and attitudes slightly more skewed than they were before. Go figure.


Reading & Writing

I used to be a terrible writer. My sentences would run on farther than a Kenyan in a marathon and they certainly wouldn't have any direction either. When I started college my papers would get marked with more red than the Red Sea. I think this was mainly because I didn't expose myself to reading enough to get an idea of how things should be written. Sure there were textbooks that I read. You're a fool if you truly enjoy reading those. But maybe I would have enjoyed them more if I had to read them for pleasure. Whenever I read textbooks it was always to study for an exam or to write a paper. Books shouldn't be read just for that though. Reading for pleasure is truly one of the best freedoms we have.

Reading and writing are closely related. You can't be good at one without giving attention to the other. My problem was that I used to think writing was innate in me and that I truly enjoyed it. The truth was, unfortunately, I was bad at it. I used words incorrectly, inserted punctuation in the wrong places, and I never knew how to tell a good story. That's what writing is all about really, telling a good story. I used to think that the semicolon was my friend and that I could use it wherever I pleased; boy was I wrong.


Influences

The last book I finished reading was Catcher in the Rye. It's a good story, there's no doubting that. I benefited most from it by absorbing the style in which it was written: simple and easy to comprehend. Not every book should be written like a medical journal (however those are written). Rhetoric and jargon are for phonies. Catcher is written in a natural voice that we can all relate to (that is unless you enjoy talking like a phony).

A few weeks ago I finished reading a book about saving the Earth. For about a week I was raving mad about saving this planet. It's true, read my past blog entries. I even dedicated a three part series to it. The world felt like it was going to end within my lifetime. I know it sounds crazy but that's how these books mess with your mind. Books like The Revenge of Gaia can really have that effect on you. It could give you such a frightening feeling you would think it was Halloween and everyone was dressed up like madmen.

I guess I'm just easily influenced by things I like, that's all. That can't really be a crime can it? Some people get influenced by worse things. You know it's true. I don't even have to tell you how many things in the world can influence you to do bad things. Cults, business scams, crime, and corruption are just a few to name. I hope reading doesn't ever compel me to try any of those things.

~Anthans