Tuesday, March 29, 2011

The Jackpot

I haven't won the lottery. It is hard to if you don't play. (Let us just pause here for a moment and imagine what I would do with 60 million dollars. Would I continue working? I would like to think so. Maybe just doing whatever I wanted, crazy, expensive, time consuming projects that probably wouldn't sell! But that would be fine, because I would be swimming in money, Scrooge McDuck style. Maybe I would go back to school (glutton for punishment?) and get a degree in art history and maybe one in literature, or history, or radical feminist theory? Or perhaps I would buy a vineyard and spend my days among the vines, steadily getting fatter and fatter on a diet of fine goat cheeses and tender French bâtard? Well, I know that I would like fund a scholarship at a women's college (or maybe high school?!?). Can you imagine how fun it would be to read the application essays?! Especially while I'm sipping on wine from my own vineyard?! But maybe I would just bake cupcakes all day long. And on the days that I didn't bake cupcakes, I would do all the yoga that I could ever want at all of the expensive yoga studios in town.)

Okay. Enough of that. Please feel free to fantasize about how you would spend your 60mil in the comments section. I find it fascinating what people would do.

So, no, I didn't win the lottery, but I did hit the jackpot with this here book:


Please ignore the cheesy 80's style cover (check out that pyramid in the center!). I love it that it looks so much like a textbook! Concepts and technology! It's a real goldmine (har har!) for the relentless jeweler who loooooves to slog through things like this on her lunch break:

(yeah yeah!)

Thus far I have made it through filigree. Remember that I am planning on making some little filigree pieces for a wedding necklace? I figured I had better read up a bit on the finer points of filigree construction before letting myself loose at the bench. I knew the basic idea, but now I REALLY know. This is the most instructive book I've found. (Tim McCreight's The Complete Metalsmith is a total joke compared to this book. Sorry, Tim.) I really feel like I can go out and do filigree after reading the filigree chapter. It was very thorough (am I the only person who can't spell thorough? Other toughies: necessary, beginning, and accommodate) and as far as I can tell it is worth every last expensive penny that it cost. Can't wait to read the the section on granulation!



3 comments:

soph said...

Oo with 60 million dollars. Well I'd donate a lot to various charities supporting medical research and foundations for the public understanding of reason and science. I'd give some to siblings and pay off my boyfriend's car loan in return for foot massages.

Then I would build an eco-friendly house with water tanks and solar panels. There would be massive luxurious bathrooms (complete with giant triple headed showers and stairs leading to a raised spa bath). There would also be multiple water slides leading down from various areas of the house and garden into the pool, which would have an adjoining hot tub and be surrounded by palm trees.

I'd have a massive veggie-fruit patch and a few acres of grassland, which would be maintained by my babydoll sheep ( http://www.akbashdogs.net/sheep11.jpg ) and miniature pigs. My Newfoundland dogs would wade about in the dam and my cocker spaniels (and mini pigs) would roam the house... Ah hell the Newfoundlands can come too.

I'd spend most of my days looking after my (future) children, garden, animals and abode (with hired help as well of course) but when time would permit I'd offer free/affordable speech pathology services in my clinic rooms located on the premises. Or perhaps I'd run a camp encouraging children to have a love of nature and science.

Holidays away would be frequent and my boyfriend would indulge himself in various sports. I would get my nails done weekly and have a super healthy cook 4/7 days a week.

Oh to dream....

Anonymous said...

Is that 60 mil after taxes? Let's assume it is. First of all, I would pay off our mountain of debt and set aside all of my son's college tuition money. I would establish trust funds, first for my sons, then for my nieces and nephews so perhaps I could relieve them all of the stresses of money. I would set up retirement accounts for my siblings to help let them retire now. I would probably give a few friends a generous gift or two.
I would dump a big sum on my synagogue, the Mogen David in Israel, and some peace organizations whose philosophies I agree with. I would donate to Autism and Multiple Sclerosis research, 2 causes that have had a big influence in my life. I would set up a scholarship fund at my boys' high school .... it has been a spectacular school and I am hugely grateful.
I would purchase a modest single family home with enough room for all of our books and art ( I hate town home living). I would build a fabulous kitchen for my husband to play in.
Whatever was left would be invested in green, sustainablle and ethical investments to fund our worldwide travel.

I love playing the "how to spend my millions" game!

Justine said...

@ charlie Of course this is after taxes! Taxes, bleh. Sounds lovely and very philanthropic. Of course I forgot all about the traveling, I was focused too much on baking cupcakes. But I would love to learn to sail and sail all around the world.

@ soph I too have my own ideal bathroom dreams. Mine include a soaking pool and a two seater sauna, lined with cedar. I would also like lovely mosaics in the kitchen and bathrooms, but I would probably do that all myself. How all of this would fit into an old farm house, I don't know.