I do my share of splurging, but in general, I tend to save more than I spend. This has been helped by the general lucky course of life I’ve led (free to attend Governor’s School, scholarship to UVA, being GRT now so I don’t pay rent … etc etc). Essentially, ever since I was a junior in high school, I have been financially independent from my parents and have managed to save money from odd jobs (and now a steady grad school stipend), more than I’ve ever needed to spend. So I’ve started to wonder, just what good is this money anyway if all it does is sit in the bank collecting dust, which overshadows whatever measley interest I happen to get?

Some say I should invest, but I’m not investment savvy. Just the thought of investing gives me a headache. So what else is there to do with the money except to spend it? So the solution to this is that I will spend my money. I’ll leave some cushioning (just in case I fail my quals and get kicked out of school), but essentially, why not spend the rest?

So now the question is HOW to spend the money. Last summer, I bought a bike, which I guess was kind of practical. This year, I want to splurge big. I’m going to throw a huge party.

Yin Yin, Xijia, Vandna, and I are finally going to have our West Side reunion in November here in Boston. This will be the first time we’ve all seen each other, together, since 1996 when we were graduating 8th grade. Hence, there is no question that this reunion has absolutely got to be done in style. An additional motivation is my upcoming birthday. Since I’ll be in China for my actual birthday (Oct 28), I won’t really have a chance to celebrate with friends here.

So WL reunion + 24th birthday = HUGE bash. Details forthcoming, but the date is Friday, Nov 10. For those readers who are in Boston, save the date.