On money

I was reflecting earlier that I haven't really blogged all that much about how I feel about money, which is odd given that I'm in the business of managing other people's money, as well as my own, and therefore have to and do think about it all the time. But I haven't written so much about how I think and feel about money.

Or have I?  A quick keyword search of the blog on "money" turned up a number of posts, more, of course, than I have time to read.

In any case, money and wealth are two of the most complicated questions in our culture, and certainly in my mind.  On the one hand, as I look around this room where I sit and type, which is effectively my man-cave, even though a bunch of Mary's photo stuff is here, I can't help but love it.  Maybe 270-300 square feet which I basically have to myself.  A desk, an external monitor, a bunch of books, a 20-year old armchair (declining fast), a 25-year old futon (mostly good for storing stuff on it), some guitars.

I definitely love having the room, both as a private space for me, but also as a place where Graham and I can mush together (for how much longer????) into the armchair and watch Star Trek in the evenings.  This room is, no doubt, a great luxury, as is our house as a whole, all 2900 square feet of it.

And I wouldn't mind upgrading the futon to a more comfortable couch, one which would, ideally, be suited for napping.  Problem is, of course, that I so rarely make/find time to nap.

But do I need it?  Sometimes it feels like an albatross, a gift which keeps right on taking.  Yesterday I spent 3-4 hours just cleaning screens and windows getting ready for a party.  And you know there's more work to do (I am writing, in fact, against the deadline of cleaning toilets and a few more windows).

I am kind of infected by the perverse house pride of our generation, though I also look at nabes with smaller houses and yards and therefore better community and wish I had some of that.

In any case, the intrinsic relationship between wealth, class, and self-esteem/image is a vein I need to mine more here on the blog, because it is real.