financial aid and rants and raves

Although I'm a Westchester native and feel as I belong here in this tony glen, my life here is rather tenuous. The cost of living is high, the housing market is cooling the way lava cools in Hawaii, at high noon, in the middle of summer, during a heat wave, and I really don't feel as if fit in with the group of friends I thought I had. I suppose lots of Westchesterites feel this way, at least those not pulling in millions per year as Wall Street drones or soap actors. Keeping one's economic position is the heart of the middle class experience, with aspirations for the upper class and fear of the lower class, all the while not realizing the lower and middle class are much more similar than the middle to upper class. Why? It's not about how much money you make, but how you make your money. The middle and lower class work, either for someone else or for themselves, while the rich have others work for them or earn their money passively via real estate, bonds, dividends, etc. Education isn't a panacea either, with the degree merely promising you better paying work rather than a ticket to wealth. Only those who study law or medicine really transcend this truism, with the value of their degrees earning possible entry into the elite.

Tim Ferriss, author of the "4 hour work week," does a much better job of describing the above, so I'll simply quote him: "This book is not for people who want to run companies, but for people who want to OWN companies." The emphasis is (mostly) mine. Even if the companies he for which he lays the groundwork don't end up as the next Microsoft, the structure is turnkey and should operate without you. This allows to run amok and have fun; thus, income aside, you are in effect "rich," albeit in time more than money. Once you have control over your time, you find the money you have stretches much further.

Still, living in Westchester isn't all about money. It's also about finding your own places and friends. This is what makes an area a home rather than just a place. Miami Beach was my home for a short while, with funky coffee shops and cute little restaurants on Lincoln Road and my cadre of buddies. The places and character are gone now, and I can't really call the place a potential home any longer. The major shortcoming in Miami was (and I say this without sarcasm or irony...) was the radio. Essentially there was no station for me (i.e. my demographic...) and the only station I liked was The Coast, an A/C format that was surprisingly good; there was something undeniably mellow about the station. Still, my jones for '80's music and rock and roll generally went unfilled, although there were brief high points.

Radio in NYC is more diverse, with the huge population supporting any type of radio format. WPLJ is probably my favorite station. As I get older and new music leaves me cold, 'PLJ keeps the juices flowing. I listen to others, of course, one of which is 107.1 the Peak.

The Peak is the epitome of local small town radio, playing "World Class Rock," and although I don't like all the music on their list, I was always happy the station existed. I identified with the station. It was made for people like me who love both popular and obscure rock music. While the station has only 130,000 listeners in the area, the station survives. So long as it broadcasts, I feel a little more like I belong here in Westchester. I've always feared for the station's success, so imagine my horror when I tuned in and suddenly listed to static. My heart sank at the thought of the station getting tossed, but it was the inevitability of the fact that struck me. It was just another shove out the door and the tipping point is close to being reached. I was sad, and I felt like I lost something important, like the death of a friend. I blamed myself; since the listener base is so small, I felt I didn't listen enough. I finally got to the office, and called the station. Evidently there was a technical glitch and they'll be back on the air tomorrow. Phew... As proof of my theory this is a station made for me, I hopped on-line and tuned in via the 'Net. The "10 at 10" featured music for 1992 this morning, and I liked everything they played, even owning one of the songs on my Ipod. It was a serious relief to listen to my local radio station, and I am happier than a rational person should be. Close call? Oh yeah...

Just like a pricker bush. Actually, that begs a question: what exactly is a pricker bush? Anyway, it seems I've fallen into one with this apartment. It's costing me time and hair follicles and will probably end up costing me August's rent. It may even cost me the apartment itself. Evidently neither my mortgage broker nor my attorney have the warm fuzzies for each other, and the delay may scuttle the deal. I'll know more this week. I have a back-up purchase just in case. Still, I'd be bummed if I lost the place. I'm getting what is effectively a 10% discount on the going rate, and as mentioned in previous posts, this is exactly what I've trying to accomplish. The principle is as follows: get the price I would have paid 2 - 3 years from now, watch the valuations match my price, then wait for property values to slowly increase. My accepted offer is 67.5K and comparable units are now 74K. 2 years ago the price would have been

The back up plan is even greater in price difference. The unit is a small cabin in Ossining for 20K. 18 months ago, it was selling for 70K. The legal ownership structure is similar to a co-op or leasehold, and you don't own the land under the cabin. Still, the price is more than right. I could take a bath, though. If the apartment I wish to buy could have been purchased at 10K in '98, how low would this thing go? Yeesh...

Anyway, I need to post a recap of Alex's visit, but I need to be at home so I can type without pause. More... you know.

Freedom from choice is want you want (Devo). Suddenly I am in demand. When school recommences, I was going back to school myself, at least for a semester or two. I wanted to collect enough credits to apply for promotion at some future date. I also wanted to borrow a little money to pay down my credit cards and otherwise consolidate debt. I didn't of course, and I'm come to the conclusion I am done with school for better or worse. Furthermore, the inherent advantages of my job are under subtle but realistic threat, but these things were always the case. I cannot forsee the gravy train barreling on forever. Part of this threat is demographics. Gen-Y has more or less run it's course. All the teens, polluting our culture with Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, have become adults, and the generation behind them (Gen-Z?) is much smaller, similar to the Boomers and Gen-X. As such, the college will have a precipitous drop in enrollment growth, if not an outright decline in population.

All of this means that the school is facing lower revenues, and major pension and contractual obligations to it's two unions. One of those unions seems to be making a severe misstep,and after that is complete I wonder if we are next in the crosshairs. The next round of negotiations will be telling. There is a silver lining to all of this: I needn't be as beholden to my job as originally thought. I'm presently reading "the Four Hour Workweek" by Tim Ferriss, and it's an excellent primer for life beyond the college. There is much prep work to using the final stratigies of the book, and those would need to be enacted now.



This brings me to the topic of the post. It's almost time to move, and I'm off to sign the contract tomorrow. Evidently there's another offer floating around somewhere in the ether, and I need to nip it in the bud. I was going to dedicate this entire post to the topic, but it's really just a blip in the grand scheme. Then again, what isn't? Anyway, it's late. More when I wake up.

Well, it's been nearly a week since I started this post, so here goes. The apartment purchase is cruising along, but I've done nearly all I can do for the moment. I need to be interviewed by the board (shudder) and prepare for the move. I laid out my deposit, and now I wait. More on Monday, and we'll know.

Alex's trip has been going well, and we got a side trip to Niagara Falls as a bonus. The trip is nice and appropriate for a 15 yo. We came; we saw; we spent shitloads of money. We took lots of pictuers, and bought junk as proof of our wanderings. It was fun, but all the driving kicked my ass. I'm off to Albany tomorrow, so Alex needed to go back to Bethehem tonight.

As for the intoductory paragraph, I've been hired as a reader for Faire, and it should be fun, if a little strange. I get to hang with Rennies again, and I can't complain. I can also use the extra money. I did thin only after discovering the realtor's course I was planning to take starts in Nov. so I have the ability to do both and prepare for an alternate career should the college go south.
I'm not sure this is good idea, but I can't think of a valid reason not to work the Faire. Even the surgery I was planning can't happen till October, SO I have the need time. I'll also be living much closer, hopefully. Anyway, it's late and I need some sleep for the drive up. More tomorrow night.

# posted by brian @ 12:25 AM 0 comments