Okay, so at some point today I realized that I would be way more thrilled to pay off my Bank of America card and get them out of my life forever, than go buy a PS3 tomorrow morning. It was a total “duh” moment. Duh. Of course I’d rather pay off the remaining $1K balance and kick that card to the curb! With it gone, I’ll begin my battle with the final, colossal credit company that has subjugated my personal finances for the past five years.

I guess you could say these credit companies are the “mini bosses” of my life. Today I’ve reached the final stage. Completing the previous stages has given me enough experience, gold and aptitude to make it through this stage and kill the final boss with ease. It just takes a little bit of time, fortitude, and personal sacrifice to make it through to the end. I’m ready. FIGHT!

This is what my life is reduced to for the next six months. Finding joy in the small victories of paying off my debts. Instead of going to rock shows, football games, bars, dance clubs, or taking a vacation… I come home from work and spend my evenings selling all my useless crap online and distracting myself from going out and spending money. I read. I exercise. I write silly blogs. I learn new skills. …Just to keep from spending. I was even going to register for classes today, then decided not to. First thing’s first. Pay off the debt. Rather than having to decide whether to buy something or pay off debt, this summer I will be asking myself whether I should give more money to charity, or put it into savings? And which savings account—the 401k or my money market account? I can’t wait to have those dilemmas.

So… No PS3 for me. Not yet anyway. My reward for months of sacrifice is lopping off the head of one of my fiercest foes—Bank of America. It feels pretty good.

I feel like writing tonight. Mainly because I’m procrastinating. I don’t feel like exercising. I haven’t felt like exercising in over a month. I really need to get back on the wagon (or Bowflex, rather). I need to get on my diet again. Every now and then I like to totally splurge and eat the things I’ve been staying away from. I had some pizza rolls and a whole pizza yesterday. I bought all three “monster cereals” the other day (mostly because I was so surprised to see them at Giant). I’ve gone through Count Chocula and Franken Berry. Now I’ve started on Boo Berry. Once I’m done with this box (and the Bryer’s peach ice cream in the fridge), I’ll be done with all my high-carb food. It will be time to live off of Tysons buffalo wings, peanuts, Slim Jims, pork rinds, and Carb Smart ice cream again. Yummy.

I’ve devoted the past two months to sales. I’ve sold a ton of my material goods. The folks at the post office now set their watches to my daily visits. This weekend’s eBay earnings (approximately $400) will go directly to my PS3 fund. On Friday morning, I will be standing in line at the Best Buy in Reston at 6:30 AM to purchase the new Playstation 3 console. Trust me when I say that I am very excited to pay cash for a prize I’ve worked hard and budgeted for. Rather than feel guilty about putting $600 on a credit card, I will happily pay cash for this fabulous prize—with absolutely no regret or guilt to ruin its enjoyment. It’s my only frivolous expense in a season of strict frugality.

This week is going to be really slow and easy at work. All the employees in my department will be going to Las Vegas for an all-hands seminar. All the contractors will be left behind to find creative ways to kill time. Personally, I’m going to go watch movies at lunch and after work. There are a bunch of movies I need to catch up on (like Borat, The Departed, The Return, Grudge 2, Marie Antoinette…). Who knows—maybe some actual work will come up.

In other news…

I went to a show at the Rock & Roll Hotel in D.C. last Wednesday with Kelli. It was my first time there. I definitely liked the venue itself (there were some great rooms upstairs with amazing couches and decorations). The stage floor was fairly tiny, which made for an intimate concert experience. The neighborhood the club was in, however, was pretty awful. It was northeast D.C. (H & 13th). The streets were almost completely empty, aside from the shady dealings happening in the various shadow ways. All of the restaurants on the street contained counters encased in bulletproof plexi-glass. It was pretty sinister. As for the show, I wasn’t into any of the bands playing. I honestly only went to hang out with Kelli. …And to scout the area for the upcoming Sounds show (Nov. 25). Maybe I’m getting old, but I can’t really handle a 4-band show on a weeknight.

There were several work-related gatherings and happy hours last week. I have some pics, but I’m too lazy to edit and post them. I’m kind of tired of thinking about work and my coworkers right now. I’m really thankful that the majority of my team will be gone this week. I have to think about my plans for the immediate future. Things are changing in the office, and I’m not sure it’s for the better.

Anyway…

Looks like I don’t have time to exercise tonight. Guess I better go to bed and read a little.

Not much happening in my life at the moment. I’ve been working like a frakkin’ banshee at work the past couple weeks on some upcoming phone launches. I had some really neat public recognition yesterday and today, which made it all worth while. I’m quite pleased with how the week ended.

Last night I went to see The Nightmare Before Christmas in 3D at Fairfax Corner with my pal Kelli. I showed up at the theater pretty early, so I went to the bar and ordered a sandwich and a beer. The bartender was obviously bored (since it was a Thursday night, and there was hardly anyone at the theater), so I talked and laughed with him, while we watched The Office on the HD TVs around the bar. I finished my food and drink right about the time Kelli showed up. Instead of getting our tickets and hustling into the theater, Kelli wanted some hard liquor. We went back to the bar, and she treated us to two shots of Ketel One vodka.

After snagging two pairs of stunningly fashionable 3D glasses, we sat down in the nearly empty theater. We had great seats, but were unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your perspective) left-flanked by a giddy woman, who ended up snorting and laughing at every possible moment during the film. I thought it was funny. Not sure if Kelli did, though.

The film was beautiful in 3D. Really amazing. I’m baffled how they can go back to an old film and make it 3D. I wish they could do this to all the great sci-fi movies. I would love to see a Tie-Fighter space battle or an Ork castle attack in 3D.

Anyway, I’m not sure how long Nightmare will be in theaters, but you should definitely check it out in 3D, while you can. I highly recommend seeing it at Fairfax Corner, because the theater is huge, clean and new. Plus, there’s a bar!