SO a couple new developments since I've last written:

I am going to learn Arabic, with the help of the Rosetta Stone CDs (I bought the whole set, along with the Ipod audio companion...); I split the cost with a buddy at work so it comes in at a moderately reasonable $230/head (or thereabouts). I found an online coupon that helped defray some of the hideous charges...

The century I signed up for in Philly is apparently going to be a fucking ridiculous sufferfest. Like ridiculous. I read reviews of the race from previous years (same route) and people are saying that it has some dirty hellacious climbs that maul you right around mile 70, when your will to live is wearing thin and I am scared. I have decided that this may well necessitate the purchase of a compact crank. I'm going to the bike store tomorrow to check it out...

In other news, I have found a watch to replace the crazy hours that doesn't look good on me :( - and it is a fucking awesome Blancpain women's watch that has a perpetual calendar (mmmm) and is a chronometer (double mmmm). I just need to figure out how much I can get it for and I have promised myself I will halfway save to it before I blow the whole amount on the watch. Seems to me a pretty fair compromise for delaying gratification that I realistically "need" not delay. I figure I can tuck a few hundred bucks away every month for it and get there before I leave for school next fall, or potentially even before that if I am wily and apply my whole tax refund to it (Extremely Wily.)

I've stopped contributing in my 401k entirely and am now putting the money into my Roth IRA instead (it will probably be the last year I am eligible to contribute to the Roth IRA for quite some time), so that I have access to the money should I choose to return to school or buy a house. I am also attempting a little active budgeting in the next few months (we'll see how that goes...) to save up for my watch more quickly, squeeze in my overpriced gym membership, feed more old people than previously, all while saving my entire raise, which is not an insubstantial amount of shit to fit in every month. The trap I don't want to fall into is allowing my raise to basically be drained away by incremental spending.

In other news, my bond buying spree is paying off like crazy. HOT.