Lost Generation

(click title for YouTube video link. 1:44)

It's a brilliant wordplay. I'd recommend checking it out before reading this post, but if you don't want to, it's fine. You'll still get the point of it at the end. Still as cool, so here it is...

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I am part of a lost generation
and I refuse to believe that
I can change the world.
I realise this may be a shock but
"happiness comes from within"
is a lie, and
money will make me happy.
So in 30 years, I will tell my children
they are not the most important thing in my life.
My employer will know that
I have my priorities straight because
work
is more important than
family.
I tell you this.
Once upon a time,
families stayed together.
But this will not be true in my era.
This is a quick fix society.
Experts tell me
30 years from now I will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of my divorce.
I do not concede that
I will live in a country of my own making.
In the future,
environmental destruction will be the norm.
No longer can it be said that
my peers and I care about this Earth.
It will be evident that
my generation is apathetic and lethargic.
It is foolish to presume that
there is hope.

And all of this will come true unless we choose to reverse it.

There is hope.
It is foolish to presume that
my generation is apathetic and lethargic.
It will be evident that
my peers and I care about this Earth.
No longer can it be said that
environmental destruction will be the norm.
In the future,
I will live in a country of my own making.
I do not concede that
30 years from now I will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of my divorce.
Experts tell me
this is a quick fix society,
but this will not be true in my era.
Families stayed together
once upon a time.
I tell you this.
Family
is more important than
work
I have my priorities straight because
my employer will know that
they are not the most important thing in my life.
So in 30 years, I will tell my children
"money will make me happy"
is a lie, and
true happiness comes from within.
I realise this may be a shock but
I can change the world,
and I refuse to believe that
I am part of a lost generation.

-Jonathan Reed

Rags to Riches

What does it mean to be rich? Is it all about staying in a 6-acre mansion; driving a Maybach or a Porsche; dining at fine restaurants; wearing high-end fashion apparels like Hugo Boss, Gucci, or Burberry; or flying first class and staying in five-star presidential suites while travelling?

I know that it's oh-so-often for one to be told that true happiness comes from within. Personally, I also believe that money will make me happy. I don't mean that I'll be finding joy drowning myself in luxury products and a lavish lifestyle. It's about having something, in this case money, and not needing it, rather than to need something and not have it. It's a simple term coined "financial security". Even if I can afford it, it doesn't mean that I'll buy it. Money will make me happy, but I do not rely on spending it to find happiness. That's just material happiness.

I believe that a person who saves more than 50% of one's income, instead of spending it all on inessentials, is the reason he/she is rich in the first place. I'm talking about individuals who start from scratch, not some rich tycoon's son who inherited the millions.

As Forrest Gump said, there's only so much fortune a man really needs, and the rest is just for showing off.

Ladies First

So it's been awhile since I last posted something 'round here. Thought it should be time for the first post of the sparkling not-so-new 2009. 10 days down, 355 more to go~ Nah, pardon me; I shouldn't be counting the days, I should be making the days count. This could possibly be my final year in pursuing my education, my final year in Australia. Then again, who could predict what our future holds. I could land a job, work between play for the next 40 years or so, retire, and enjoy life for whatever its worth left then. Or I could work and play between my pursuit for an academic degree of a higher level, and settle down at a much later age. Ah, if only one could foresee the future. Hold on, scratch that; I take it back. All fun, surprises, and excitement would be lost if we just anticipated a known future. It's like watching a film twice.

Resolutions. Always made, rarely fulfilled. Hence why I made mine much simpler this year. It's mostly about being polite & courteous, like holding doors for ladies and such. It's not difficult, just often neglected. I believe that there's a fantastic reason the word "gentle" is placed before "men", apart from referring to the male gender at the washrooms.

I'm glad that my bruises from rafting have mostly faded. The bruise on my thigh was the worst. It expanded to a width of around 7 inches and 11 inches lengthwise. It was so horrendous I didn't even want to take a picture of it then, which I now regret. You know how things work these days; no picture, no proof - it never happened!

I got into a minor car accident last night. It's really minor, really. I'm fine. I know that heaps of people say this, but it really wasn't my fault! I was calmly driving along the street in front of my secondary school when this gold coloured Benz maneuvered into my lane without prior indication. While swearing with the S-word, I blared the car horns and depressed the brake pedal. Goldie hit my right side mirror, which shattered. I bought the parts for the repairs this morning and claimed compensation from Goldie's owner. See? It really wasn't my fault! Hella expensive though. I didn't know that a bloomin' side mirror costs 280 bucks! Seriously.