April 19th, 2011 (day after TAX DAY)

First day in a month I was able to ride the bicycle to school.  It was warm enough not to have ice on the roads but still cold enough to pedal fast.   Any day that begins with a workout seems to go smoother.   I love the freedom of speeding thru town on my bike,  running red lights, hopping up and down curbs,  driving down the wrong lane when no cars are there,  just maximizing my bicycle efficiency, since the last thing an urban cyclist wants to do is come to a stop.  

I have so much to do in the next 6 weeks.   I have to sell most of my possessions,  get people to take over my fish tanks and snakes,  get the truck serviced,  and many more things.

Still not sure what direction to take.   I'm seriously thinking about hanging out in Wyoming and Texas this summer then taking a University job in China for the next year.   Chinese Universities start classes in August and I'm seriously considering spending some time working there.   I would like a few more fun travel experiences so I can have fascinating things to think about while I spend my final days as a hermit.
The pay sux,  but being on an adventure would more than make up for the lack of pay.  Plus all my housing needs would be paid for by China's communist government.

But I have made the conscious decision to QUIT THE MIDDLE CLASS.   Its just not worth it.   The middle classes get taxed to death,  have shitty health care, etc..  I can't afford a new car,  I can't afford a house,   yet I make more than the average family in this valley.   What happened to the middle class?   Hell,   lower middle class folks back in the 60's could buy a house and a car.    I don't have any debts,  don't go to bars/movies/restaurants,  don't have kids,   why can't $50,000 a year provide a good living?   I do admit I spend a lot of money on flying out of Utah (I've flown out of this state 4 times  in the past 9 months),   but still.    They tax me at 25% which is ten percent more than I was taxed when I made $34,000.   The richest only pay like %34 percent,  but have enough tax loop-holes to where they wind up paying nothing.    So why bust one's ass working in a high stress job for fifty grand per year?   My health is going down hill,   my stress levels are killing me,  I'm getting nothing in return for all this.    I would much rather live in a truck camper,  work part-time doing labor,  maybe make a few bucks from the internet.   And minimize all the stress factors that are doing me in.      I have quit the middle class,   the benefits don't come close to the sacrifices.  
 
           Sorry for ranting,  but the middle class is getting squeezed worse than ever before.   I quit.   Maybe keep catastrophic health insurance with a huge deductible,  in case I get in a bike wreck,  but I would pay far less per visit, if I didn't have insurance at all.    I remember seeing poor people paying $40 a visit to doctor back in Texas,   while, I (who had insurance),  had to pay $80 per visit.    Seems like only the rich and poor benefit in todays America.   Hell,  the money I would save not teaching 37 kids per class and the stress that involves,   would probably keep me from the doctors office all by itself, not to mention the sicknesses involved by having way too much human contact each day.  I'm done here.

          The University jobs in China I mentioned,  involve 12 - 18 teaching hours per week,  reasonable class sizes,   free room/board,  all bills paid,  free food, 2 months vacation plus plane fare.   And no paying income tax to the US,  who will use my hard earned money to buy bombs or feed crack whores,  or give subsidies to Fannie Mae,   or some other bullshit.  (Damn I'm still ranting)....

          Advice to young folks:   Make a plan to be either Rich or Poor,   nothing in between is worth wasting your time.   Think big or small.   Only those two extremes are worth your while.     Your politicians no longer care about you unless you are rich or poor.   Better yet,   go buy some swamp land and learn to live off it!   No one is going to give a hard worker a fair shake anymore.