When I first started thinking about retirement, it seemed really far away. Once I understood my expenses, I knew I had at least 3 and probably 7-8 years to retirement. As I brought my expenses down, that number dropped a bit – but it still seemed uncountably long. I naturally focused on retirement more whenever [...]
All posts by m741
An End in Sight
Posted by m741 on May 20, 2012
http://skillsfire.wordpress.com/2012/05/20/an-end-in-sight/
Acceptance
I haven’t been posting as much as I used to. Partly it’s because I’m busy, but I’ve also begun to accept. The past month or so has been excellent at work. I’ve begun to knit together a group of people who I respect, and who value me. I feel like I’m productive, making a good [...]
Posted by m741 on February 29, 2012
http://skillsfire.wordpress.com/2012/02/29/acceptance/
Climbing a Ladder or Hamster on a Wheel?
Some nights, I lean back in my leather chair, swirl a glass of aged whiskey and smoke a fine cigar, and I ponder what it means to be a human being. Ok, not really. I don’t have a leather chair, and I don’t like whiskey, and I rarely smoke cigars (and when I do, they’re [...]
Posted by m741 on February 20, 2012
http://skillsfire.wordpress.com/2012/02/20/climbing-a-ladder-or-hamster-on-a-wheel/
Concerning Diamonds, on Valentine’s Day
As something of a Valentine’s Day-themed post, I’d like to discuss diamonds a bit. There’s an article floating around titled Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond? It’s appeared on a lot of “best essays” lists, and for good reason. It summarizes this history of the diamond cartel, how popular perception of diamonds was [...]
Posted by m741 on February 14, 2012
http://skillsfire.wordpress.com/2012/02/14/concerning-diamonds-on-valentines-day/
Careerism
The past few weeks I haven’t written as many updates as I’d hoped. Several factors have conspired to keep me from writing, chief among them a strong feeling of careerism, which I’d like to explore. When someone is described as a “careerist,” it is uniformly an indictment. This is because people who are conscious enough [...]
Posted by m741 on February 11, 2012
http://skillsfire.wordpress.com/2012/02/11/careerism/
Puzzles
It might be difficult to believe, but sometimes I love my job. I enjoy puzzles, and I enjoy the procedure of rationally exploring alternatives and reaching a conclusion. My job is a series of puzzles, no matter how closely you look, which form a great spiralling sprawling fractal. First there is the micro-puzzle, which is: [...]
Posted by m741 on February 11, 2012
http://skillsfire.wordpress.com/2012/02/11/puzzles/
Laziness is the Key to Success
Yes, I know what you’re thinking: “Whoa! That’s a provocative title,” but it’s true. Being lazy can be an awesome character trait. I would hazard a guess and say that laziness has helped keep my budget sane, and also has helped keep me relatively healthy even with a stressful, time-consuming job. Although venerating laziness is [...]
Posted by m741 on January 29, 2012
http://skillsfire.wordpress.com/2012/01/29/laziness-is-the-key-to-success/
Culture Shock
I just had a conversation which left me in shock. I’ve never discussed anything financial with co-workers. My assumption was that, while they probably weren’t extremely frugal, they were financially prudent. As I’ve learned – assumptions are usually wrong. One of my co-workers is getting married and he mentioned that he was spending $20k on [...]
Posted by m741 on January 26, 2012
http://skillsfire.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/culture-shock/
The Effect of Hours Worked on Quality of Life
I’ve noticed over the past two years that there are times when I just absolutely hate my life – I want to just get out, quit my job, and start camping in the woods and growing a beard. There are other times when I’m content with work, and sometimes I’ll even feel happy and satisfied [...]
Posted by m741 on January 22, 2012
http://skillsfire.wordpress.com/2012/01/22/the-effect-of-hours-worked-on-quality-of-life/
My Language-Learning Method
You can go about learning a language in a variety of ways – for instance, you could pick up a textbook and start memorizing grammar rules. Or you could pick up a dictionary and start memorizing each type of fruit or vegetable. That’s typically what you learn in school, but it’s not a very effective [...]
Posted by m741 on January 11, 2012
http://skillsfire.wordpress.com/2012/01/11/my-language-learning-method/
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