Resurrection!
yes, after 3 years. Jesus rose from the dead on the 3rd day. This blog is back! Its not like i have a group of followers like Jesus. No one reads this blog. Anonymous? Since this is link to my gmail account. i guess perhaps not.Today, its something to about FINE PRINT, its about Terms and Conditions. Its about being charged for a service i never use. But the very act of being lured into a free trial puts you in danger of being charged. Its not really "free". Damn those baits! Sometimes, i am good at it. I put a note in my iCal so that i will remember to cancel those trials. But sometimes, i trust myself too much. Why are these trials 1 month or more? Probably because you won't remember by the next month what you signed up for.
Another thing -- Amazon Prime. Yeah, 6 months trial is too good to be true (it use to be 1 year free btw). And then i got charged. But i don't mind that because i have been using Amazon Prime and i guess i can pay and use it. its ok. But STAMPS.COM! really. why did i signed up for that? I needed stamps. Desperation leads to stupidity i suppose. And... the rest, i don't want to talk about it.
3 years to update. what have i been up to? I need to do a montage of my last 3 years. Succinctly summed up as -- Parenthood. And then there was the Marriage part, which till now, my firm advise is, try to avoid it as much as possible. Partnership is just as good without the paperwork. There is no incentive to being married, you do get some tax cuts when you file together. But really, do some soul searching -- is the amount of money saved really worth selling your soul to the devil, aka Archaic institute of life long imprisonment?
I mean, you know, maybe its not that bad if you had a wedding and scored some really great gifts. Stuff that you will never really buy such as the expensive set of bedding from Macy's ( which you can probably find at Marshalls or Ross). Or other knick knacks for home decoration, but if you don't own a place, you are better off putting those stuff on ebay.
I prefer the good practical asian practice of just giving money. Yes, give the newly weds money and let them decide what they want to do with it. Honeymoon, a new home, college fund for future baby. whatever. Just not another Kitchenaid.
M's family are really good about sending presents for birthdays and christmas. But really, as much as i appreciate the kind gesture, we don't see so much of each other, or know each other so well to get the most thoughtful gifts. I think gifting is a hard thing to do. I hate it when people give some typical crap and the receiver goes, oh, what am i going to do with this? Its like M sends his brother that typical touristy t-shirts every year until i stopped him. And in return, M gets the same stuff from his family which he never wears and they are in storage. Its just, too ugly to wear, but too expensive and too sentimental to just give away! Finally, after 5 years, M caved in and we brought them in to the Salvation Army.
Unfortunately, parenthood and marriage have not changed me very much. I am still the same bitter personality. I still can't stand happy people. They are just so darn irritating. But ok, when it comes to babies, they are cute. My kid is the best, totally awesome. But he does not change the facts of life. In fact, he makes it more real.
Still on the Phd path. But as with every other student at the end of the 5th year, you get jaded. With the current economy, we don't have the luxury to put all that money into science and research. And with the number of Phd students getting channeled into post-docs who then find themselves over-qualified and jobless, its a sad predicament. I am envious of my classmates who are still staunch on this path. But for me, its a different ball game when I have to be employed to ensure my family gets healthcare (this is however only a major concern in the US, if we were to move back to Singapore or to Europe, i don't think it will be the #1 concern).
Really, all i want in life is to have money and the time and health to enjoy it. All i want is to buy a couple of nice purses, shoes and cute dresses. van cleef &arpels, tiffany
The rise of the phoenix, the dark and material phoenix.
posted by eline @ 8:14 AM
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