One Pound is a Tragedy, a Thousand Pounds is a Statistic

The human mind is a strange thing. I can get quite annoyed with myself for losing a 50p food coupon, but when I get a car repair bill for £1,300 (as I did yesterday) I take it philosophically. Don't get me wrong, that's a lot of money to me, but even so my brain switches to "These things happen" mode. "In 100 years, who's going to care?" I ask - as Sarah Connors' flatmate asked, just before she got her head smashed in by the Terminator. I feel strangely serene.

Still, I'm glad I finished my Christmas shopping before the bill came in, or I might be skimping a bit on those last few presents...