In the beginning...

So here's the deal... I'm a student and a world traveler. I go around to different places in different countries to look through archives--collections of old, old, mostly boring documents--in order to find interesting tidbits of information that I can transmit to my particular research institution back in the United States. The idea is that one day I will be able to finish my degree, get an academic position, earn some money, and then start a life like normal people do. You know... with a house, a dog, and kids... that kind of stuff.

Alas. I am rather far away from that day. For the last few years, I have been struggling and relatively poor. Which was fine. My school provided me with some cash to get by.

That is, except for the summers. In the summers, I am forced to fend for myself. It is quite an unfortunate affair considering that I have no real marketable skills, unless there is a market for a full time reality television watcher.

The last few summers, I've done this that and the other. I've scraped enough money together to live. Not much else. This summer, I've decided that I will try something slightly different.

My goal is to have earned (and probably spent) 10,000 dollars by the end of the summer. I'm not quite sure if it is realistic. I really have never worked an honest day in my life. But we'll see. And that is why I have started this blog. To document my progress for the world to see.

10,000 dollars or bust, I say!

Let me mission begin...