Mr. Independent

Ever spend a day pretending you're independently wealthy?

That's what I wound up doing yesterday. After taking delivery of a small china cabinet we bought off of Craig's List (long story), I executed my plan (detailed below) to perfection. A satisfying leisurely workout. A stroll around Lincoln Square, including stops to drop off my resume at Old Town School, to browse a record store, and to peruse an apothecary. A burger and a couple of Guinnesses with my friend Greg at The Daily Bar and Grill. An hour at home playing guitar and tinkering. A trip to the grocery store, and finally, the preparation of a splendid candlelit dinner of chicken baked in a pouch with red wine and mushrooms, and served with a caprese salad and baked asparagus wrapped in bacon and seasoned with rosemary and lemon.

Now that's a good day. And really, if I was independently wealthy, most of my days might not look too different from that, with the exception of maybe a little more time spent playing and recording music and the addition of my wife. I highly recommended this experiment.

In order for it to be successful, you need to be someone who works all the time. Then, you need a weekday off of work (it helps if it's only a semi-holiday, like Presidents' Day, where not everybody is off, or feel free to take a random sick day in the middle of the week). Finally, you need to have at least enough money to be able to go out and have some food, and maybe shop for some relatively extraneous objects, like a nice imported shaving cream. 

It also helps to drink in the middle of the day. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that I've won the Lotto. I did have a stake in our office pool, but the winning ticket was apparently purchased in Nebraska so... unless our secretary Sue took a road trip to buy our tickets... it's back to reality.

Although reality ain't too bad as it is. It's just not... independent wealth. Or even dependent wealth for that matter.

jbg