You’re nobody here at $10 million,” Mr. Kremen said earnestly over a glass of pinot noir at an upscale wine bar here.

then move, asshole!

Wealthy (though decidedly unrich) and not guilty (although sometimes self-conscious).

If I felt I were wealthy and guilty, quitting my job wouldn't fix a thing--it's the guilty part that's broken, not the wealthy. I studied and worked to get this money.

I make more money than my sister or parents ever have. They have 6 degrees between them, and I've got only the one. Making more than my parents is what makes me self-conscious. But I'm private sector and in the US. So it shouldn't. But education was always my parents' holy grail, and not mine. My mother at the very least knows that her relentless pursuit of education is what diverted her away from using her spicy brains to make a bunch of money. So she both wants me to go to school and to earn more money. But I'm good. Sure, I want more things, but I'm good. No property, no dependents.

I'm in my hospital room right now. When they said I could get the internet, I didn't think they meant I had an entire (but somewhat locked down) computer avec browser.

But I can't get to my webmail because ports are blocked, which means I have to set up my BBerry to get personal mail while I'm here, otherwise the world might end.

Also, my cellphone has run out of charge.

This is how rough my life is (note me ignoring the reason for being in here...).

I am glad I don't want to be somebody. I just want to be able to afford a house.

Why is Kremen an asshole? He has untold wealth in some parts of the world, and is outranked by a lot of people where he lives. Me too. Am I an asshole if I acknowledge that?

"Yeah, we make a lot. But we spend a lot, too."

Heh. I totally feel wealthy. And the fact of the matter is, I did quit my job. We were making $100 grand together when we left the field. Sometimes I joke that I skipped the rock star bit and went straight to the social justice work. And in some ways that's literally true; I'm living off the money of a rock star.

So I guess I'm better off than the dot commers, 'cause I ended up doing what I wanted to do before I hit thirty. Course I don't own a house or a car or more than two pairs of shoes, but lots of my day to day life is similar or better than theirs.

I'm poor, but frankly, I don't want to make the commitment to work that I would need to do in order to be not poor. It looks like I am about to get a promotion that might allow me to pay off my outstanding credit card debt in a yearish (I am crossing my fingers) without actually having to do any more work (it is a reclassification based on the claim that I have already been doing the higher level work). I can't really afford a car (but I don't really want to right now), but I can afford netflix and a roof over my head. I feel like what I make, once I have paid off the debt, is sufficient for my needs in comparision with the amount of effort I want to put into work. And I am WAY better off than a lot of people, but then I feel the people who pick bottles and cans out of the garbage for a living have to work way to hard, while most folks around here say "Why don't they get a real job?"

Hivemind question--

I have a student worker that my boss decided to hire (long story, I don't know the kid). My workspace consists of a reception area, where he is sitting, and my office. I can lock my office door and the outside door. If I go out for a meeting or whatever, and the student is still there, is it rude to lock my office door? Does it seem like I don't trust him? I really don't have a feeling one way or the other, but I don't want to give him a key, and don't want to leave the office unlocked if he goes out. Or make him feel like he can't leave.

The richest part of my family was probably pulling in about $5M/year. They were sure it made them better than me, but it wasn't enough. They still ran close to the edge of their budget. They lived in a grand custom built house, sent their daughters to boarding school at Cate and to the same school as Duchess Fergie was planning to send hers, and all of the girls got BMWs when they turned 16.

Nifty, I guess.

I mean, I wanted their stuff because I like stuff. But it didn't make them happier than I was.

In continuing first world news, I was just told by the (Wolfgang Puck) kitchen here at the hospital to give my food order to the butler.

Vortex, I actually do this all the time. There is often sensitive student information around and if the student worker has to go to the bathroom or something, it shouldn't be left unattended.

Why is Kremen an asshole? He has untold wealth in some parts of the world, and is outranked by a lot of people where he lives. Me too. Am I an asshole if I acknowledge that?

If you "acknolwedge" it by saying that there is simply no way to stop working eighty hours a week because you absolutely must keep up with the top 1% of the Jonses then yeah.