$ is no object when it comes to the basics

As a graduate student living on the generosity of Citibank (wait, you mean I have to pay it all back?), I have found myself scrimping on anything possible. I horde soy sauce packets from the 24 hour Asian convenience store. I will walk 15 blocks just to buy deli turkey. I buy chicken breast WITH the skin and bones (gasp!) because 1) it's always cheaper by the pound and 2) the bones can always be boiled, strained, and made into at least two meals worth of delicious chicken soup with the addition of some chopped celery, carrots, and onions and elbow macaroni.

Okay, so we've esetablished that I am frugal. Fine, I'm cheap. Which leads to the subject of this post. When I first got to NYC, I made a Target run and bought the staples, like a toilet brush, dishwashing soap, etc. Imagine my joy to see a can opener with the price slashed to a mere $0.99! This seriously made my day. I might have spent $130 on shit, but the deal I got on this can opener made it all worth it.

Fast forward to today. I'm opening up a can of soup, and although it does seem to cut through the metal, I can't seem to get the can OPEN. I am trying to wedge my fork in the space between can and lid, but I end up losing half of the soup from my frustration and shaking it all around. I think to myself, "goddamn it, this is what you get for a $0.99."

So, the lesson is: if you really like or live on canned soup or anything in a can really (which, face it, any starving student should)...invest in a good can opener! Money should be no object when your sanity is at stake!