Your money isn't rare, spend it!

So much money today will never be used because of dumb people. Everyone has either a cool dollar coin or a two dollar bill. One thing you've never asked is, "How much is it worth?" It's not that hard to find out. All you have to do is read what the currency says. A two dollar bill is worth two dollars, and a dollar coin is worth one dollar.

Two dollar bills especially are extremely uncommon today. Uncommon, but not rare at all. They're still made today, but once they're in someone's hands, they stay there. Only really old stuff is worth something, which means your fifty states quarters collection is worth $12.50 (9.59 Euros, 393.22 Russian Ruble)

The only way to ever see more cool bills and coins is to spend yours. You can even go to the bank and ask for two dollar bills. It's really cool spending them too. Everyone gets happy when it's left as a tip or just to see one gets anyone excited for a few minutes.

These coins and bills should go back into major circulation because people like spending money that you don't usually see. Trying to spend this money is extremely hard too. If you don't have any left, you would need to the bank and ask for some. Usually the bank has to order the money and most of the time you have to trade the money in bulk. For example, some banks will only give you two dollar bills if you give them $2,000 first. You will get $2,000 back in two dollar bills, but who needs $2,000?

Dear FRB, please put our collections back into circulation. It's not that hard.

Sincerely, Elias 

My iPhone isn't that cool.

      Everyone has an iPhone. You have one, your brother has one, your parents are still learning the tips and tricks, even though it's been years. Even my grandma has an iPhone, it's ridiculous.

      Maybe you don't have an iPhone, but you have an iPod.
      Maybe you don't have an iPod, but want an iPhone, sure.

      If you don't own an iPhone, don't worry. You're not missing out on anything. Yeah iMessage is pretty cool, but it shouldn't be the only reason you're paying 500 bucks. Siri? I'd rather ask my dog for directions to the Torchy's Tacos across the street. Oh but you've already spent so much money on iTunes music? Your music will work anywhere, don't worry. But you've just spent 99 cents on an app that was on sale? Most apps go on sale whenever a holiday comes around.

    Pretty much every app is on every smartphone. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, all there. No one cares that at the very bottom of your Facebook post, it says "Via Facebook for iOS". It's not a big deal. The camera seems really nice and cool at first, but after a couple of months, it looks just as bad as 3GS.

     No one will ever leave their iPhone, including myself. Why? Because no one has looked up in two years to see what else has came out.

      It used to make you cool for about a week to have an iPhone. But now, their not hard to get and it's making someone rich.

     I can't customize it that much either. The most I could do is spend thirty bucks on an iPhone case and change the backgrounds, but that's about it.

   The worst part, is forcing yourself to buy the newest iPhone pretty much every six months. Even when you have a two year commitment, most of the time.

    The iPhone is an accessory, not a necessity. There are plenty of fish in the sea of phones. 

     

Don't believe everything you see, or hear, or touch, maybe even taste, but not smell, except for onions.

 It's crazy on how many times bad situations happen from not taking that double take or just not realizing what you're doing until something bad happens.

There's also good things that could happen. This year at SXSW I was mistaken for the almost famous rapper or pretty much mainstream rapper, "Watsky".
It's also bad when you buy things off of the T.V. from the shamwow guy really sucks, and you paid 30 bucks for a yellow rag.
It's cool though when people don't realize that you're not who they think you are and you end up on everyone's instagram.

Most of the time when these things happen, you feel better about yourself, but then it comes right back at you in the, face that the picture you just took would be the most embarrassing picture for the girls you just took it with and you're right in the middle of it.
Illusions are different when it comes to the topic, those are supposed to trick you so they have no place in this blog.
Sometimes we get lucky, (going back to buying stuff and stuff like that) for example, when you text in to win those ACL passes that haven't even come out yet.
And then there's those unlucky times, (still talking about the above) when you find out you have to be at least 18 to win. It happens. But they usually give you tickets to another concert at Stubb's that no one's going to tonight, just because they feel sorta bad for you, but not really.

One of my worst experiences was with my parents when we all went to Vegas over the summer. I had warned them so many times about the timeshare thing and how to just stay away from it (from my expert TripAdvisor skills). They eventually went for it and we spent half the day at this hotel not far from the strip with about 50 other victims along with us. We ended up getting free tickets to a dinner and show at the Luxor but the rest was just a huge waste of time.

Don't believe everything you see, or hear, can't remember which is the popular saying. Both works too.

In reality... (Vegas Edition) Part 2

The chips aren’t tortilla chips, they’re Ruffles. We finally made it into Las Vegas, but not before passing through Hoover Dam. It was extremely dusty, hot and windy that day. But it was worth it. We stayed in the Bellagio. The room was really, really, really cool. We had a view of the fountains and the strip. Oh, and sirens coming from ambulances were non-stop all night. Have you ever heard someone say you can go into the casino, you just can’t step on the carpet? (For people underage) Myth busted. Our whole family was walking around the machines, taking pictures (with no flash), talking to the floor guys, the only thing is, you can’t play the machines. I walked in every building on the strip, I just couldn’t go into the “private rooms”. One thing to watch out for are the people handing out flyers and advertisements. Just avoid those people. Another tip is if you’re going to take a picture of someone dressed up like a celebrity or superhero, have a few dollars on hand and don’t take a picture of just them, they don’t like that. If you’re at a gift shop and you see something you just have to have, but it’s just a little bit more than what you want to pay, just buy it because you won’t ever see it again. Those are one of my regrets of walking into a gift shop.

There were so many shows that I had seen in that one week. There’s also that part of Las Vegas that no one goes to, The Old Las Vegas. There are a lot of cool things there, like the first casinos, a broken down casino and a gas station. It was actually terrible and a waste of  time. That’s the reason why no one goes there.

The way back was really nice. We passed by a truck that’s engine had caught fire and exploded. We were stopped in the middle of nowhere for about an hour. I had never walked on a highway in between 18-wheelers and tons of cars. This happened twice. The second time the truck had already been burnt up and was just sitting on the side of the road. There were so many things back in Las Vegas that I never understood. Like in movies, there are those men in suits and glasses talking into the earpiece that goes down their shirt. Those guys actually exist! There are a lot of things that I questioned, but Las Vegas is just weird. Nothing bad happened on the trip, thankfully. We stopped by a lot of famous landmarks and also a lot of boring places that no one cared about. The worst part about the whole trip was unpacking, but that’s a whole different story.

In reality... (Vegas Edition) Part 1

        

I’ve been to many places in around and out of the country as far as Ontario, Canada and Cancun, Mexico. This isn’t a story about those trips, this is a story about a recent trip to Las Vegas, Nevada. One of the weirdest trips I have ever taken.

This was last summer and we’ve all been planning this trip for a while. I heard a few recent stories from people in school about their trips to Vegas. Some said that they had to stay in the hotel the whole time because “kids” weren't allowed anywhere inside any building on the strip or even near it. Others said that they had so much fun and that there were so many things to do. These people always acted older than they are, but around everyone else, they’re little kids. I wasn’t really sure who to listen to. So the time came around and I remember leaving in about the middle of June and waking up at about four in the morning to coffee and breakfast tacos. I don’t usually drink coffee but breakfast tacos are the usual. I had my bags packed and phone charged.                                   

I’ll skip a few hundred miles into El Paso to get the story started. We were also going to every McDonald’s that we passed by. Not to eat, not at all, but to get a movie at the redbox. Those were really cool because once you’re done watching the movie, you don’t have to drive all the way back to the same redbox. It’s like a library, as long as it has their name on it, it’s accepted. My dad kept pointing at the mountains in the pitch black. I think I could see a few, mostly because of all the orange lights coming from Mexico. It looked like the lights on a landing strip, paved for miles. It never seemed to stop.. We ended up stopping in Las Cruces, NM. It was  really small and quiet, but they have the nicest public bathrooms in the world. The same thing happened the next day and we stopped in Sedona, AZ. Sedona is the prettiest place in the world. It’s really calm and down to earth. The Grand Canyon was just a few miles away. The view from our hotel room was amazing. The next day we passed through Phoenix and ate at a small mexican restaurant that is supposed to be really famous. It was terrible.

Fitting in. (Austin, Texas Edition) Part Dos

      Knowing how to pronounce the streets and places is very important. For example, the two most important ones to know how to pronounce are Manchaca and Guadalupe. You would pronounce Manchaca like “Man-chack”. Guadalupe would be almost the same without the “e”, like “Gwad-a-loop”. Koenig Lane is also mispronounced a lot. It should be pronounced like “KAY-nig”.

    Getting used to loving Austin music shouldn’t take too long, unless you’re hooked on Lil Wayne, we’ll pray for you. Also because that we’re the live music capital of the world, it’s hard to stay away. While you’re checking out that band you heard about, someone suggested pizza afterwards. That’s when things get a little out of control. There’s numerous pizza shops around Austin, usually within 200 yards of each other. There’s isn’t  a ‘best place for pizza’ because every place has their own style going on. There’s Home Slice, East Side Pies, 313, House Pizza or even Conan’s. If you are new to Austin and live close to downtown, get used to your neighbors because they’re not gonna change. A neighbor of mine that moved in several years ago would always play music for countless hours a day. She still does, not as often, but usually for days that should be celebrated in some way. You can get a lot out of your neighbors. They know things you don’t know and you know things they don’t know. It’s also good to know your neighbors in general.

    Knowing what’s going on around your city is a big plus. There’s always something happening on the weekend, even on weekdays during lunchtime, you’ll always find something cool to see and do. Those times during the weekdays are always the best time to go to events or lunch. The reason is because when it’s a Friday night and you want to go out to a casual dinner with someone, it won’t happen unless you’re willing to spend a lot more in a fancier restaurant away from the parties. Other than that, the lines will always be long and the music will always be loud.

Fitting in. (Austin, Texas Edition) Part 1

Over the past few years, Austin has grown into as the city to live and travel. It may not seem like it if you’ve been living here, but you’re missing out of if you haven’t been outside in a while.

For starters, going downtown to check out the cool things that have been popping up around 6th street and SOCO would refresh your memory. Going into the fanciest hotels with friends is optional but, if you can get in without questions being asked, it’s easy after that.

The Paramount Theatre is somewhere you should go to for a certain reason. Not for a concert, even though that’s one of the best places to see one, but to see a movie that you’ve already seen at least 100 times. There’s always showings of good movies on the weekend.

 

Supporting your local businesses  is a big one when it comes to Austin. Even though you have that Whataburger gift card, Sandy’s is next door. Fast food isn’t really the sort of thing we’re aiming for when talking “local businesses”, but you can get the idea. Shopping for some cool clothes on SOCO is more of what we’re talking about, or even grabbing a neat snack at a food trailer will work. A way to get down there would be riding a bike. When it comes to riding a bike, some people feel that they can’t ride a bike or that they’re just not a bike person. Taking a pedicab would be plan B in a situation like this. So you can sit back and not worry about getting sweaty and riding around with your Walmart bike. Spending a couple hundred dollars on a new bike doesn’t hurt you in the long run, especially if you bought it from a local bike shop. How? They’ll always have your back when your bike isn’t working right. Maybe even if you’re a regular, they’ll fix it for free!