nickel and dimed

[firegirl]

i'm reading nickel and dimed by barbara ehrenreich. long story/short: well-educated, firnancially secure author embarks on a short traveling experiment to experience the 'real life' of the average lower-middle class person, working for minimum wage, and trying to live within her means. this book is far from a socially significant classic, but i finally got to a section that made me pay attention:

the author comments on her boredom and "little nervous symptoms" that have arisen:

"more disturbing is the new habit of plucking away at my shirt or my khakis with whichever hand can be freed up for the task. i have to stop this. my maternal grandmother, who still lives on, in a fashion, at the age of a hundred and one, was a perfect model of stoicism, but she used to pick at her face and her wrist, creating dark red circular sores, and claimed not to know she was doing it. maybe it's an inheritable twitch and i will soon be moving on from fabric to flesh."

sound familiar? just thought it was interesting.

kisses, firegirl.

[Zoner]

interesting! I wonder if the author actually picks-
she's got to have some sort of framework to go by-
I don't think most people have ever even acknowledged it is an issue, let alone even thought that people did it, unless of course, they have experience in it!

anyway- do you recommend the book? I'm looking for something good to read.

[firegirl]

it was interesting and amusing. the actual rendering of her experience was somewhat interesting, and the kindergarten economics study chapter was somewhat amusing.

would i read it again? maybe-probably. but only because of the wal-mart section. would i buy it again? definitely not.

i have a coworker that loved it, though.

save your money-
pm me your address and i'll mail it to you.

firegirl