Money Is The Source of Problems

I really hate money. Money makes my life so miserable. I mean if I don't have money I can't buy the things I need and want. But if I have money, I worry how to keep that money from being wasted and from being used. You can't have too much or too less of money...

Earning money isn't that simple too. I have to work in a job where I do things that I never thought I would do like serving other people. Oh well when I become a nurse (or hopefully a doctor) in the future I will have to deal with people so being in customer service may be helpful in a way. It can help me strengthen my defenses against those unlikable and rude people by birth. I really hate my current job but I have to stick to it because I don't want to waste my free time by just staying at home and doing nothing.

I have to save money for university and I want to buy myself a car. But then things go crazy again. I have to make sure that I don't have too much money to be eligible for a Canadian Student Loan from the government and I can't have a car since it will add to my personal assets which will affect my eligibility for a student loan. I also have to put in mind that even if I save enough money for a car, I have to continue paying for gas and the car insurance so getting a car is not a great option if I plan on being a full time student. Oh well, guess I have to use the family car to get to my duty areas since my dad doesn't use it to go to work.

Sometimes, money can cause a strain in relationships. I have a friend from the Philippines who wanted to borrow 530 Canadian dollars (that's 20,000 Philippine Pesos) since my friend is having some financial difficulty. I have the money but I was having a hard time deciding whether I should lend my friend the money or not. It's a pretty huge sum (2 weeks pay) but if I don't help my friend in times of need then can I really call myself a friend? It's really hard when there are times you need money but your friends don't help you out because they are afraid of losing money. These are the times of hardship where you can tell your friends from the rest. I was also afraid of losing money. My brother doesn't pay me back the money he owes me and we live together, so what certainty do I have that my friend won't just run away with my money since my friend lives far away. Sure I can sue my friend or chase after my friend through legal means but then it would take time, effort, and more money. Plus it would lead to the end of our friendship, and I don't want that to happen.

But I lent my friend the money anyway because I place my trust and faith in this friend and that I want to be of help during this time of need. I just hope that I made the right decision because $530 is no laughing matter. I really hate worrying about money.

Why Are We So Different?

I really wonder why my brother and I are like opposite charges. Of course I'm the positive one and my brother is the negative. It's like we were raised by two different set of parents although it must be noted that we grew up in totally different environments.

I grew up in an environment where I was first mixed with "normal" Filipino kids and then suddenly sent to a new environment where the kids are privileged. By privileged I mean stinking rich with matching body guards and servants in uniforms. I was placed in an environment where I have to constantly prove my worth by making sure that I have several note worthy achievements. I was faced with high expectations from everyone and this pushed me to work harder. I had to live by myself while I studied in a high school in another city far away from home. I had to buy food from the grocery by myself, budget my allowance, and I had to do everything by myself because I lived alone. I was taught how to be independent and self-capable.

My brother on the other hand went to an average school, met average people, and my parents never expected anything from him, well except to pass and graduate that is. My brother is a spoiled brat and it is my parents who have to put extra effort in making sure he graduates from high school by doing his homework, influencing his teachers to make him pass, and they even have to waste hours trying to wake him up in the morning so that he can go to school. He is literally spoon fed and everything is given to him which never happened to me. Everything he needs is given to him and he never even have to ask for it.

Imagine asking your mom when you were a kid what a word meant and then she tells you to look it up in the dictionary while my brother on the other hand would never ask what that word means so my mom would be the one to tell him what that word meant so that he'll learn something. This is exactly how our situation is.

But I really blame my parents for how rotten my brother turned out to be. Since my parents allows him to do everything he wants, he is always out of the house and he smokes, drinks, and I presume that he does drugs too (he was already caught with marijuana and was almost expelled if it weren't for my parents). If he's not out of the house, he brings his equally pathetic and self-absorbed friends who are too busy trying to look cool and are too occupied with having fun that they forget that they should prepare for the future too and that whatever they have today is temporary.

I'm really sorry for my brother because I know that he's just wasting his life and his future. He was given an opportunity to study here in Canada and live a great life but he wastes it on his so called friends... but I shouldn't worry really, he's not my son. He's not my problem anymore. My parents aren't doing anything so why should I?

Knowledge Could Save You

I recently went to a friend's house for a little gathering and it is there that I met his uncle who suffered a stroke. I was amazed by his story and his fight for his life. He was really blessed because even after being half-paralyzed due to his stroke and his open-heart surgery he is still doing well and is still active.

My friend's uncle was really lucky but not every one will be blessed like that. That is why everyone especially those at high risk of heart conditions should know more about how their heart works, how different heart complications will affect the heart's and the circulatory system's functions, and most important of all, how one can prevent acquiring these problems.

I believe that knowledge could save you and that's why I really recommend that everyone checks out heartlibrary.com because it is the website that has videos and contents about the anatomy of the heart and common heart problems. Real doctors who specializes in hearts and the circulation system informs you about the said topic with an easy to understand language. The website is also a great source for finding a doctor near you and other important tidbits of information.

So as the saying goes, Knowledge is Power!

Boxing Day

Today was quite ok. It was quite busy but I'm kind of used to it. I already came back to work since my back has fully recovered and I didn't want to lose any more potential earnings.

It was quite sad that I wasn't able to come with my family shop today especially when it's Boxing Day. But what is Boxing Day really? Well it's a day when stores have these huge sales and discounts. The savings for these sales are so great that people will literally camp out and wait in line before the store opens. Boxing Day was supposed to be a day of goodwill to the less fortunate but guess it's more of an after Christmas shopping holiday.

But going to work today rather than going shopping was way better because I wasn't tempted to spend money (yes I'm a compulsive buyer) and bargain hunting at crowd-filled stores is not my idea of fun. Besides there isn't anything that I want to buy. Well I do want to buy that HP laptop that has a touch screen which could rotate 360 degrees but I kind of think that it's not worth it because I already have a laptop. I suddenly regret buying an overly expensive desktop which I don't like using anyway because I prefer using my laptop which I could carry around anywhere the house.

Anyway, at least my mom was happy today. She got to buy an Olympus Camera which has 8 Megapixels and is waterproof and shockproof for a very reasonable price too! And she also got an Altec Lansing speakers for her desktop for I think $20! That's a very sweet deal.

There are so many things I want to buy but then I realize that I don't really need them. So I'm quite thankful that I don't frequently go to malls and I don't use my credit card to buy stuff online anymore because I might do something hasty like buy an iPod Touch which I rarely use now. So Boxing Day is not a good holiday for me, but if I have a Million Dollar then you better move out of my way because I'm going shopping! Lol! So much for self restraint.