Thursday, June 14, 2007

Payday

Today is Payday.

I miss the ritual of payday. I have direct deposit, so I never get a check or anything. I used to love the ritual that surrounded payday.

You get a piece of paper, and it contains all kinds of information. How many hours you worked, what your deductions were, how much Uncle Sugar decided he needed, you ballance of sick leave and vacation.

And the best part, what you got to keep. I didn't really mean much, because generally it was all committed somewhere of the other.

It maintained the illusion that you were actually payed for doing a job, not being milked of your resources by the Military/industrial complex.

After work, it was off to the bank, where you gave them the piece of paper, and they gave you back REAL MONEY. My ritual was to then stop at the store and buy some good beer. Microbrew. Then we would go grocery shopping, and buy a few treats along the way.

Now it is mostly done electronically. My paycheck is direct reposit, I get an electronic statement, and I don't carry much cash, since most everything is done by debit or credit card.

Sure it is convenient, it is quicker, and I can pay the bills while sitting in my lounger and watching a baseball game.

But I still miss the old ritual.

5 comments:

Michael said...

I never liked the ritual, I really like being all electronic! I also like the fact I can check my statement the day before payday to verify my deposit in advance.

But really, the best part is that the money is in my account *on* payday... and not waiting on me to make time to get over to the bank to deposit it, I'm a terribly procrastinator! ;-)

Al said...

Michael: As I said, I know it is more convenient, but it feels like I am giving up one more little bit of control over my life

rennratt said...

As I live in the middle of nowhere, I am relieved that Direct Deposit exists.

It is One Less Thing for me to deal with!

Al said...

Renn: I know it is convenient, it is just the feeling of giving up one more piece of control over my life.

Al said...

Sneaking in the back door here. You didn't see anything.