Living below the line

World map showing the percent of national populations living on less than $2.00 per day. UN Estimates 2000-2007 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As many of you know, I’m a BzzAgent and signed on for a campaign…Live Below the Line…to bring awareness to extreme poverty.  By taking part in this campaign, I agreed to spend $1.50 or less on food and drink every day for 5 days, which, as hard as it is to believe,  is what a lot of people live on all of the time.  You realize that means no eating out, no vending machines, no running into a convenience store and grabbing a Coke…I think we take all of those things for granted in our day-to-day lives.

So, how did I do on day 1?

Breakfast:

2 slices toast  .10, 1 T peanut butter  .06,  oj  6 oz  .14, milk 8 oz .15

So breakfast came in at 45 cents…pretty good.

Lunch:

1 frozen pot pie  .35, 1/2 serving of crackers  .07, diet Pepsi  .46

Lunch came in at 88 cents…my guess is you can see where this is going to end up…

Dinner:

2 slices bread .10, 1 slice cheese .08, 1 cookie .09

Dinner came in at 27 cents.

Total for the day was $1.60…

As I look back over what I consumed today, the cost of what we drink really jumps from the page.  That and the fact that I didn’t eat much in the way of fruit or veggies. So this was not a very healthy diet for day 1…and I still exceeded my monetary goal for the day…wow…had I not bought most of what I ate on sale, and often with coupons, the cost would have been even higher.

So  tomorrow I’m going to see if I can skip the diet Pepsi (won’t be easy) and add some fruits and veggies.  After only 1 day, 1 not even successful day, I’m getting a glimpse into how difficult it would be to live like this all of the time.  Definitely makes you think…

Related articles

• A Dozen Below The Line: Day 8 – Perspective (agirlcalledlynsey.com)
• What is Live Below the Line ? from a Bzz Agent. (jboy2244.wordpress.com)

Dance the dance

Line dancing at a Country Western Dance Hall and Saloon. Italiano: Esempio di Line dance. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

He glances across the dance floor, the beer in his hand forgotten as he stares at the trio of girls standing in the doorway.  Without taking his eyes off the girls, he leans over to his buddy and nods toward the girls.  “Do you know her?’, he asks.

His friend looks at the girls, takes a sip of his beer, and replies, “Yeah, I’ve seen the tall one around town.  Can’t remember her name though.”

“What?  No man, the little blonde.  Her.  Ya know her?”

Kenny looks back at the girls, then looks at his pal with a grin.  “Mmm…nah, don’t think I’ve ever seen that one before.  She is kinda cute, though.”

Sean stares at Kenny in disbelief.  “Cute?  Are you crazy?  Cute?  Are we looking at the same chick?  That’s the most gorgeous gal I’ve ever seen…ever!”  Sean shakes his head and mumbles, “Cute.  What the hell are you talkin’ about, cute?”

Kenny laughs and punches Sean on the arm.  “Dude, what’re you waitin’ on then?  You better make a move on her ’cause I’m thinking the guys’ll be lining up to dance with that one.”

At that moment, an older man walks over to the girls’ table and escorts the little blonde to the dance floor.  Sean can’t tear his eyes away from the couple.  As he watches the man slide his hand down her backside, Sean nearly leaps from the table.  He sits back in his chair when he sees the blonde move the guy’s hand back to her waist.

After another turn around the dance floor, the older man slides both hands down the girl’s backside and pulls her into his body.  Sean stands, thinking he’ll go to the floor and rescue the little blonde, when he sees her slip under the older man’s arm and walk away from him.  When Sean slumps back into his chair, Kenny looks at him questioningly.  “What the hell is wrong with you?  She’s just another girl.  Go ask her to dance.”

Sean rubs his face and shakes his head.  “Nah, man, she’s not gonna be interested in a guy like me.”

 

Related articles

• Dance, Dance, Dance (thefeaturewell.wordpress.com)
• Called to Dance (alaskapride.wordpress.com)