$$$

One more item for the day:

I was talking to a friend on AIM last night and she said something to the effect of "Yeah, I wish my parents would give me money so I could live at home and not have to work."

Her intent wasn't to be mean-spirited, but still I felt like I'd been punched in the stomach. I realized that her's is probably the obvious assumption to make.

In the interest of full disclosure, and in an attempt to restore a little of my integrity, I would like to let the record show that I DO NOT TAKE MONEY FROM MY PARENTS. I live rent-free and I eat approximately one meal's worth of food per day that my parents have purchased, but other than those things I take care of my own expenses. Between a solid (but soon-to-be-depleted) savings account and the occasional influx of blackjack winnings, I provide myself with gas for the car, cell phone service, most of my food, all of my beer and movies and entertainment expenses, and all other incidentals. Obviously, my intention is to move out of the house the second I'm earning a paycheck of any kind.

It's demoralizing enough that everyone knows that I live at home, but it was far worse to realize that people might think that I get an allowance. No sir, no ma'am. Like I said in the slam poem, "No job, but not broke/I'm no rich kid, I just got some cash saved up." Word.