in which she spends a lot of money

I'm so frustrated with my home computer I'm ready to pitch it out the window. It's 6 years old, running on Windows 98, for crying out loud, and ever since I hooked it up to a cable modem, the pathetic system that is Windows 98 can't handle it, so my access to the Internet at home has been compromised. And that's just not okay.

On Monday, in a fit of compulsiveness during my office hour at school, I went to Dell.com and put together a nice new desktop system for myself. I got the whole shebang, including a flat screen monitor, a new printer, plus shipping and tax, all for $812. Those silly folks at Dell actually gave me a credit line, the reasons for which we can only really speculate. But alas, that is a discussion for another time when we all have a lot more energy. I was pretty damn proud of myself for my purchase, and excited to get my new computer, which arrives tomorrow from the big brown truck.

I came home from school on Monday only to have a little tiny heart attack when I opened my cell phone bill. See, folks, I talk too damn much. My plan includes 1000 minutes, plus free nights and weekends, but apparently that's just not enough for all the things I have to say to people. Between August 4 and September 3, I talked for more than 3000 minutes, folks. I'm happy that I get to blame a big part of it on S., who I met on August 12.

So the great deal I got on that Dell? It's all a wash when we factor in the cell phone bill. I called Nextel and signed up for a different plan--one that includes 800 minutes with all incoming calls free. So that means that, if you're someone who talks to me regularly, after October 3, I'll likely be calling you, saying, "Call me back," and hanging up. I trust you'll understand.

We won't even talk about the cost of a hotel room at the 2007 C's. Holy. Mother. Of. Jesus. H. Christ. On. A. Bicycle. One night at the Hilton at the conference rate, no less, makes my cell phone bill look like small change. That is out-fucking-rageous. Shameful, in fact.