Day 31: The Final Day

Ok, this has been the longest month I have ever experienced. I remember the last time I went to the grocery store and charged up a bill over 20 bucks... that was New Year's Eve, and I bought sliced turkey and sourdough bread... Wow, so long ago.

Since then, I've eaten mainly beans, pasta, bread, rice, and frozen vegetables - as well as leftovers and odds 'n ends from my friends, from the Mission kitchen, and from other friendly folks who felt sorry for me during the time I became "genuinely" poor! On that note, I received a paycheque today - and three cheers for that - I did celebrate with a proper Tim Horton's coffee (a medium with milk for $1.24). I apologize, dear readers, for my extravagance: that put me over the $5 mark today, as I rang in at $5.94 by midnight.

However, in my own defence, I will say that I felt quite exhausted and drained today, and I'm not sure it was just the food situation but I wanted to increase my intake a bit. The swim lesson tonight was disappointing, I became dizzy during the drills and didn't get much of a workout. Finally we practiced dolphin dives, and I don't know what came over me, but all of a sudden I became extremely shy and couldn't execute one in front of my instructor and the program leader. It went downhill from there. I think I will try and get some good sleep tonight.

On another note, it is time to move out of this apartment, for real - now that I have a real paystub I should be able to secure a lease. I'm aiming for May 1st; April 1st if I find an especially awesome place. No wisecracks please, but I'll probably only need a minivan to move (not a U-haul!) I don't plan on buying any furniture either, what's the use, I'm never home and when I am I'm not sitting down because I don't have a TV and anyways what else would I do other than sleep?

That was a run-on sentence. So everyone, what shall I do for February? I have received several suggestions:

1. Eat vegan/ vegetarian or the Thrive diet
   
2. Eat organic
3. Eat local
   
4. Try a new/exotic vegetable each day (or old in a new way)
   
5. Reduce garbage (non-recyclable waste and packaging) to 1 lb for the entire month
6. Abstain from travel in carbon-emitting vehicles
7. Reduce home power consumption to $10 for the month.
8. Submit a business proposal to the Mission which includes a cost-benefit analysis of using re-useable plastic mugs instead of Styrofoam cups for each meal.
9. Convert 10 more people into regular readers of this blog.
10. (A la PK): Flirt with a different guy each day. (Now, what part of that says "green" to you? Unless it's John Baird or something, who knows?)
    

As for tomorrow, I suppose I will use that day to reflect on the lessons I learned during the month and provide a synopsis of the experiment (including the financial results). I may also have something to say about minimalism vs. consumerism; if I do, I shall move to the Glebe with yonder hippies. Stay tuned!

Breakfast: 2 cups coffee, 1.5 slices french toast, banana $1.36
Lunch: 1.67 cups bean & barley stew with TVP, 2.5 slices bread with margarine $0.92
Dinner: Lasagna (free! Thanks Isabel), 5 slices bread with margarine $0.78
Snack: 1 medium coffee @ Tim H's, 1 packet organic oatmeal $1.74
Other: Arrowroot biscuits & tea with milk, multivitamin $1.14

Day 31 Total: $5.84