Money is the root of all …

We all have different views on money. To some money itself is life, to others it is the root of all evil and the cause of suffering in this world. To others it is a luxury in excess while someone else might just never seem to have enough to keep himself alive. With such vast differences on how we treat money it is easy see why the only thing we agree upon is that money is essential for our day to day lives.

When we classify something as essential we value it a lot. So what exactly is the true value of money? One could argue that money’s value can be measured by how much it can buy others may say it depends on the value assigned to it, hence a million pesos is greater than a peso. Still the more green minded might say that its value can be measured against the big green, the dollar.

While all those definitions are true, I find that the best way to see money’s value is to see it for what it is really worth. This value differs from person to person and cannot be measured.

Growing up my parents stressed the value of money. Like most kids I got both the “money doesn’t grow on trees “ and “if you want something you have to work for it” lectures.  Repetition made sure that those words were ingrained in my mind.

 I’m sure we all valued money even at a  young age. As a kid my parents gave me my allowance in lump sum at the start of the week, if I ran out of money during the middle of the week then it was my fault and I would have to suffer the consequences. That was my first taste of the true value of money and how ‘hard’ life was… well not really.

I grew up without much want and though we weren’t rich my allowance was more than enough to get me both what I needed and wanted. If I needed extra cash my parents were close by and I could more often than not convince them into giving me a little extra.  Such was the case in high school where many of my projects were funded by my parents. Cartolina, Illustration board, markers, glue, printing where usually charged to them. I basically I only paid for the extras while my parents paid the necessities.

You could say my life was more than adequate and that I could have easily abused my parents but I didn’t. I saw what they had to go through to provide for our family and I knew it was no easy task.

For a long time that was how I measured the true value of money, through other peoples eyes. Boy, was I wrong…

When I entered college it was a totally different story. I left the comfort of my home for the big city, Manila. At first everything worked out for me. They sent me a lump sum allowance at the beginning of every month which I would have to budget. No problems there, or so I thought.

Things began to change when I slowly realized how different my spending in college would be. Aside from the fact that life in Manila is generally more expensive I was alone now so I had no source of extra money. For the first time in my life I was forced to account for and budget what I had. This was a bit new to me since I never had to do any real budgeting before.  

Along with accounting for every little peso comes the realization of how much you really spend and how little you have. When it was all written down I saw that was going over budget.

Aside from the day to day expenses, I didn’t account for emergencies. This is what really threw me off budget. Medicine for fever and paying for a dentist was never cheap but when you pay for it yourself you realize just how expensive these things are.

Then of course there’s the case of delayed budgets. Recently I suffered from this, apparently my parents forgot to send me money before they left for vacation. According to them it was useless to send me money since I would be joining them soon. That was my first taste of deficit.

Okay so maybe I exaggerate the gravity of my situation. It’s not like any of the situations mentioned above compare to the day to day struggle of the poor of this country. However my reactions are genuine. In the past few months in college I have learned to appreciate money and place higher value on it.  

I realize of course that my life is still relatively easy as I am still dependent on my parents. Thinking about when a time when I will be working and providing for myself is a little intimidating. If I am having problems now when the money doesn’t come from me I imagine it to be much harder.

Of course, I have a few years to perfect my skills in budgeting and accounting. Both my parents say it was never easy when they started earning but they eventually learned the ropes. I only hope that someday I may too.

And so it ends

You have no idea how long I have waited for this day. I thought I was going to go mad waiting for its arrival. Of course, the fact that I was buried up to my neck (almost literally) in work helped to keep my mind off it but even a short lull in my work meant more longing for it.

       What am I talking about? Two things…

      1.The End of this school year

2    2. Summer

 

While I have been eagerly anticipating these two things I can’t say that I’m 100% enthusiastic. The prospect of staying in Manila for summer classes in this stifling heat doesn’t appeal much to me. But I think what bothers me more is the fact this year is over. Yes I’m happy, no question about it but approaching the end means doing something I have never been good at saying good bye.

 

But before we go to the sappy good byes, I have a few questions…

Do you know what makes English blocks different from all other classes?

Obviously with a little thought you come up with the answer that English blocks are basically a group of people attending what appears to be one lengthy and continous year long class. Yes it was purposely set up that way since both English and Literature are subjects that need a higher degree of interaction. Let’s face it you need better connections with the people in your class if you were to stage a play than say… study for an LT in zoo (or math/chem if you people prefer).

Here’s a fun little trivia. If you didn’t know used to be one day dedicated to getting to know your English blocks during Orsem. I could have imagined that… one awkward day with people I didn’t yet know but would later be called R49, but after one year with you guys maybe it might have been fun.

Anyway, what happened to this you ask?

It was decided to remove that day since they found it redundant. They observed that English blocks would bond together throughout the year anyway.

So… back to the sappy good byes…

All good things must come to an end and so while it pains me to say this, I bid adieu to my English block, R49.

 

This year has been an interesting one and R49 has been a big part of it. I hold many memories of this crazy bunch that I will be hard to forget.

 

The peaceful and conducive to sleep este learning atmosphere of En 11 and DEAR time. (Don’t deny)

The “research trips” to Cubao for our feature articles

The sudden rush of students to the library during Fridays for DEAR

The last minute/last second readings for Lit

The nosebleed moments from lit poems

The crazy last minute plays/presentations/reports

The trees we hurt for the paper we used for all our requirements

The lowered class population before Math LTs

The ring-binded books

The usage of wherein

The thoughtful ‘asaran’

The crazy ‘hirits’ (cough*junmoments*cough)

The beggars for ½ sheets of paper (guilty!!!)

The wonderful groupings (Wherein!!)

The blogging moments for En 12

The anonymous comments from superheroes

The outrage over losing CTC 102 and the rejoicing when we got it back

The comfortable albeit smelly CTC 102

And of course all the teachers (not to mention our “substitute” for En 11)

 

Ok, so we weren’t the best class academically but we have potential. However, for me it was the best and I wouldn’t have traded you guys for any other English block.

 

Unfortunately, time is bearing down on us and the end of our time together is here. Good bye R49

Today we part as classmates, but we will never part as friends… (At least I hope so)

A Free Ride

Give credit where credit is due I always say. This is one of the driving principles in my life. I respect people and their work. Sometimes it’s little but they still contributed a part. But sometimes this trait tends to get abused by those we call “Free loaders.” Yes, free loaders irk me but yelling and cursing isn’t going to help the situation. I have adopted a “proportional credit” method to deal with them instead. More work equals more credit, no work means no credit.

Death’s doorstep

For as long as we are alive, there is one thing that will remain universal to us, Death. We may not want to devote precious brain activity to thinking about it but sooner or later (I personally would prefer the latter) each of us will be at Death’s doorstep. But crossing over to death’s side isn’t the only time we encounter it. Often times death comes unpronounced. Even when we wait, we never know when it will take the warmth of our life with his cold hands. But sometimes, just sometimes people become aware of death’s arrival. In this world there are things known as death omens. These ominous signs are believed to herald the coming of death. Yes none of us want to know when death comes for someone, but I believe it happens.

Flat tires on the road of life.

Flat tires delay or prevent us from getting to our destinations. The situation, people, cars and streets may differ for every instance but one thing about flat tires is constant.

Getting a one is a nuisance.

Now let’s say that flat tire was on the road we call life…

—

Villamor Tuason drives what embodies public transport in Ateneo, a tricycle. He’s been driving one for a few years now. But Villamor Tuason, also known as Billy, didn’t start out as a tricycle driver.

Testing…

this is a test post…

it seems it’s working….