4,469.52

"My boss just quit the job. Says he's going out to find blind spots. And he'll do it."
- Modest Mouse

My name is Chris and I'm quitting my job. 

I'm a grad student at Sacramento State enrolled in the Masters International TESOL Program, which is a fancy way of saying that I want to join the Peace Corps and get a Masters Degree at the same time. 

This just started a few weeks ago. I'm taking "Grammer," "Linguistics," "Teaching ESL" and "Writing For The Social Sciences."

Last week I put in my two weeks at Old Soul, a coffee-shop in Midtown, Sacramento. 

Last year I moved to Midtown without a clue that I'd be applying for the Peace Corps or going back to school. I've been blogging about that new life all along, watching myself move from one phase to the next, from one Chris to another, and now that I'm stepping forward into a completely new phase of my life, I've decided to start a brand new blog. 

4,469.52 is the contents of my bank account. 

That's it. 

That's the last of any meager savings leftover from a year at Old Soul plus half of my financial aid check. I paid off my 3,500 credit card debt with the other half. My plan is to ignore my final two paychecks from Old Soul (roughly $1000) and use them for the next two months of rent, to buy me some time before I start chipping away from the block. Because after that, every penny spent will be a negative. 

So what's the point of the blog? 

I like blogs. They keep me honest.

I'm going to keep track of my life without income. I want to see how I handle this. I want to keep a record of this budget experiment so that I might feel compelled to be smarter, more creative and crafty with my money. Can I survive without a job? For how long? What else can I do for money? Will I try getting something published? Will I panhandle on K Street? Will I resort to a life of crime? I don't know. I have no idea what's going to happen. 

Current Monthly Costs:

Rent: 500

Assorted Bills: 100 - 130

Current Life Situation:

I'm commuting to school via bus (free for students). I've been dating Jenny since early March and on October 6th she'll be moving to South Korea. My friend Iven wants to move to Midtown and we're actually going to look at a house this coming Sunday. School is going well, thanks for asking. In order to finish my application to the Peace Corps, I need to send them dental and medical paperwork, and at the moment I have three tooth extractions to take care of no health insurance to help pay for the check-up or immunizations.

Expected Upcoming Costs:

Dental Work: 500 - 1000

Health Insurance: 70 - 80 per month

There you have it. The introduction. 

4,469.52