all right, so there isn't a really great story behind any of that. the change is just a byproduct of retail transactions paid for with cash-money. the decision not to move is just the result of thinking deeply about various pros and cons, as well as determining that my problems are innate and not exnate. the key insight regarding the valuative criterion of separatedness is neither interesting to my readership nor symbolic of anything else in my life.
it's amazing how much spending i can justify to myself in place of other spending. for instance, going home is something like $250 at least (home being new york); since i didn't go home over break, i can now buy 20 cd's without worrying about the cost. i'm strongly tempted, given the sheer volume of music at amoeba, to take a scientific approach to things, writing down cd's that are there and trying to investigate what they will sound like before buying them. as opposed to the reverse approach, which is to only buy things i've heard of in advance.