ashqim-lyu

So I took some (really crappy) pictures on my last shuttle ride from Bloomington to the Indy airport in an effort to capture a piece or two of quintessential Americana.

I hate when you are sitting around with some buddies casually having a few beers and the waitress comes over and your friends order another beer. The waitress inevitably looks to you to see if you want another one too. You look to your beer and see that you are in a state of refill limbo, meaning you still have 3/7 of your beer remaining. If you order now, youll have to hurry to finish the beer before the next one arrives. If you pass, you might be stuck with an empty glass for a while. The default move is to order the refill and chug your beer so as to realign yourself with your friends for the next round. So much for casual drinking.
thanks, beerweedbeer

Good news: I found a rad pad to live for the next couple months! 1 Block from the Grove St. train station in downtown Jersey City, NJ.... a 20 min. train ride to lower Manhattan. And I get to room with this dude who works/commutes from 6am until 7pm.Bad news: Damn these New Yorkers are fast. And heartless. And they would step on you when they know then can. And I learnt this the hard way.Got botched on my apartment deal. this girl I subleased the place from pays $600/mo but charged me $700/mo ("I'll pay all the utils so you won't have to deal with variables"). I KNEW utils won't be a $100/mo, but I was too smitten by her charm and blinded by her speed to be able to catch that in time and say something about it. Also she brought up the deposit idea at the very last minute ("I think it is only fair that I get back half my deposit now, and you pay the landlord half the deposit"). Now I am $500 poorer than I was yesterday! drat and double drat. Hopefully, I will get my $300 deposit back at the end of the lease, so if I behave myself and the landlord is not a prick, I would end up losing only $200 and not $500.~~Rules for next time when I am trying to make a deal (especially with good looking women):(1) Think using the right head.(2) Don't let blood from this head go to that head. See (1) for a less graphic directive.(3) Keep in mind the famous words of Mark Cuban: When you sit at the business table you always look for the sucker. If you dont see one, its you. (Undoubtedly, I was the sucker today).(4) Its a cut-throat world out there: Apply pressure or be pressured. (I felt bad for her because SHE needed to get a ticket to San Francisco ASAP and so I had to pay her within 24 hours. I could've/should've told her that "I can only give you $500 today... deal or no deal?" It would have been heartless, yes, as she was in a time-bind and would've been forced to accept the low offer, but I would've saved $200/mo on the deal. And I am jobless.)Thanks for the wake up call, New York. Living in Bloomington had relaxed me wayyyy too much. It's one thing to write an A paper on Negotiation(which yours truly did), and it is another to use the same goddamn tools in the real world. No Thanks for the book knowledge, Kelley school of Business! (okay I take that back.. Kelley Rocks!)Anyway, A fool only a fool until he wisens up. Hope this $500 lesson will help me save $500,000 in the future some day.Dear reader(s), if you learnt anything from my mistakes, I wouldn't feel as bad as I am feeling right now.