Cheaper Than Therapy, at a Buck Fifty.

So, after thirteen hours of sleep, I am back on my feet and am no longer twitching after receiving my cluster of prof bites. Now I am seeing things in better perspective. She has her job to do, and I have mine. Mine is to do my best. Hers is to… Well, unfortunately it seems that hers is to mangle any student who crosses her path. That’s fair. I’ll just have to keep my center of gravity low, and come to class equipped with Bactine.

However, I am on to happier things. Getting some readings done, and thinking of ways to relax. I sent out reminders about the Hallowe’en gathering John and I are hosting on Sunday. We are gonna sit around and watch the original Whale Frankenstein flicks with some of our closest acquaintances. I say acquaintances as they aren’t really friends, yet, but maybe by next week they will be.

This got me thinking about the nicer things in life, and made me realize that we all have, at our finger tips, moments of happiness that cost us far less than $300 an hour. So here are some of the nicest (family-friendly) mini-vacations I could recommend under ten dollars:


$8.99 (initial layout): Ghostbusters (1984) in wide screen on DVD.
(DO NOT try to substitute that hideous VHS pan and scan version, as that is more likely to nauseate than relax).

$5 (each, used): DEVO CDs.
(Robotic sounds and silly lyrics… I dare you not to smile).

$1.35 per cup: The new Tom Horton’s Hot Raspberry Smoothie.
(Hot, frothy, creamy, sweet, tastes like warm candy and oh so very PINK).

25¢ per: A smoke- Nature’s greatest miracle.
(I know, really bad for you and increasingly unacceptable in society, however for the short relief of stress it brings, I’m certainly willing to thumb my nose at snobs and mortgage my future. What was I planning to do with the ten or twenty years it cuts off the end of my life, anyway?)

Free (but for the cost of the internet): Nostalgia Sites (80s Commercials, 80s Film Synopsis, 80s Film Trailers), and, of course, BLOGGING.

Free (but for the price of shoes): Walks in the park.
(Exercise and fresh air helps bring everything down into manageable portions, with the added bonus of getting to visit other people’s dogs).

Absolutely Free: A hug.
(Available in huge quantities, in all seasons, and can be consumed anywhere. The single greatest renewable resource on this planet).


There are also some pleasures that are worth paying over ten bucks for:

$30: The gooiest, cheese-ridden, heart-clogging, sweat-inducing pizza you can find.

$25: Bourbon, and lots of it. Alternatively, coffee… but bourbon sounds tougher.

Approx. $25/mo (upkeep): My cat.
(Sometimes a source of stress, but a good source of free snuggles)


So, there you have it, ten ways to beat stress and have the fortitude to look death (or your prof) straight in the face on a weekly or daily basis. There are many more good, cheap things (especially almost anything involving Denzel Washington or Colin Firth, and CBC radio in large doses), but these are my current stand-bys.

Too much of any one thing may bring you down, but I find a nice round diet consisting of generous helpings of each gives the world a nice balance, and forces me to pull my head out of my ass.

Try them.