Sunday Sundries: On Time and Money

Something I think about a lot is the relationship between time and money, mainly because I don't have much of either at the moment. It seems to me that there are three different scenarios you can find yourself in: two of them are fine, and one is kind of terrifying.

You can:

• Be time rich and money poor- This state of being is fine because having all that times means that if you hear that you can get a good deal on, say, cereal, but you have to walk 40 minutes to get to that place, then you've got the time to do that and you've saved a bit of money. This is the position I've found myself in at most points of my life, and means that I have so so many hobbies that don't involve spending much money: sewing, running, yoga, reading, blogging, Netflix... and it's a pretty nice way to live, in that you don't feel like a disgusting consumer all the time.
• Be money rich but time poor- This has never happened to me, but I imagine it's a good way to live since the extra money you have means that you can do all sorts of time saving actions like buying takeaways when you need to, and generally pay people to do the things you need done but don't have the time to do. One day, maybe, I'll know what this feels like, even though it seems like the first option is really what I'm destined for.
• Be time poor and money poor- This is my life at the moment. It's the essential reason why I'm tired all the time, because I have all these THINGS that I need to do, and they eat up my time, and I don't have money to make it better or to be at all useful. For example, I kind of need to work a few extra hours at some point because ALL THE BILLS have come at once, but I don't have the time to do it if I want my essays to be written excellently and ARGH. Mostly I get by on free wine given to me by my family (one excellent way to combat having no money).

I suppose you can also be time rich AND money rich, and if you know how to reach this magical state of affairs then please let me know as soon as possible. Is it by marrying a millionaire? Please don't tell me that. 

Anyway. It's fine, and one day I will again have time/money, but all of this is really just a roundabout way of telling you about my oven. My oven broke a few days into my Masters (so, end of September, just before my first seminar) and finally, finally, we got a new one yesterday (days before my last seminar). It really just feels like I was destined to not have an oven for the whole of the time I had to go to lessons and be generally busier than I've ever been, and I've made my peace with that, but honestly? I'm so fucking happy to have an oven again.

See? And, if we're Facebook friends (and if not, why not?!) then you probably got a lot of oven cooked spam yesterday. Because OVEN CHIPS I CAN HAVE THOSE AGAIN!

And holy shit, I make a good lasagne. I'm basically the best to myself. Can you marry yourself/an oven?

The point, anyway, is that an oven is like the ultimate time saving gadget. You don't need to stand over it like pans on a hob, you can just put the food in it, go and do something else, and come back 20 minutes later and have your dinner. IT IS THE GREATEST INVENTION, and I don't think anyone properly realises that unless they've been without one for a while. So appreciate your ovens, kids. That's the moral of this story.