My Million Dollar Question

What would I do with a million dollars?

If I had a million dollars, the first thing I'd do is take care of my debt so I won't have to worry about it anymore. I really should have listened to the people who said having a credit card in college was a bad idea.

Once I've paid back what I owe, I'd buy a modest, but nice, house probably somewhere near the ocean. I don't know which ocean it would be next to, but I know that it has to be near the water. If I had to make a decision though, I'd probably end up going with Hawaii since I have family there. Works for me.

So debt's taken care of, have a place to live, next I'd probably do some investing/saving so I can live off interest rather than be stuck working at a job that bores me. I don't know if I'd have enough money to actually live off interest, but I don't need a lot to be happy, so I figure I could make it work.

More than likely I'd spread the wealth by helping out family members with things they need and donate some to worthwhile charities. It really is good to give back you know.

Finally, I'd probably travel for a bit. Ideally, I'd hit up my dream vacation spots that I've written about here before. Again, I wouldn't need to travel in luxury, but getting out and seeing the world is a must.

If I had any left over change, I'd think about starting up a business of some sort. Something that would challenge me creatively and tap into what I love.

That's all do-able with a cool mil, right?

My Two-Cents on Halloween

This may sound odd, but I've never been a fan of Halloween. I think my aversion to the "holiday" has to do with the fact that I never had a traditional Halloween while growing up.

I lived in the country outside of a West Texas city, and while we had neighbors (we didn't live in the middle of nowhere) we never really partook in activities that kids who lived in actual neighborhoods did like Trick or Treating.

If I strain myself, I can remember going Trick or Treating only once during my childhood. My lack of participation in the ritual had nothing to do with my parents level of love for me; it just wasn't as easy to go house to house out in the country. The funny thing is I don't feel like I missed out by not having traditional Halloween memories.

My dad was an elementary school principal, so instead of bugging my neighbors for free sweets, my Halloweens usually involved me going to school carnivals every year. These festivals were the highlight of my Octobers, and I never needed Trick or Treating to be happy.

As an adult, my need to celebrate Halloween diminished even more. Maybe I'm a stick in the mud or something, but adults have turned Halloween into just another reason to get drunk, dress like prostitutes, and act a fool. The only difference between Halloween and any other night out is you get to see half-naked women at the start of the night instead of at the end.

My dislike for Halloween really kicked in once I started working for residence life departments at universities. For some reason, I was always on-call during Halloween weekend, which meant I had to deal with drunk college students more than usual, and this time they were dressed up like naughty cops or nurses while throwing up. Not fun.

I don't begrudge those who live it up during Halloween. They have every right to have a good time, even if it's not my idea of one. That being said, part of me does wish I was more into Halloween than I am. Ah well.