A Mind of My Own

What the future holds I’m not sure. I just want to be sure about something and yet afraid to do it. It’s my first step towards something. I have tried to work towards another goal, getting a writing job but unfortunately, been rejected twice. It isn’t as much as some who may have been rejected 10 times.

I find that in Singapore, if you want to work towards your dreams, it isn’t that easy. Various factors include:

• Your own flat.
• You lack the reputation such as being featured in magazines for photography, writing, etc.
• Your own car.
• You have been doing what you hope will help you but unfortunately, your face needs to be plastered all over the net and your name must be found all over the net before anyone will want to feature you.

I will be facing the unknown and I think I may have to plaster my name all over the net and write my name all over the net so that the idea that I have in mind will take off. I don’t know how long it’ll take but I hope that it’ll pay off well.

Life here has been good. I can walk home after 7pm without much worries except for that time when I saw that flasher. That memory wasn’t good because that wanker hasn’t been caught and I don’t know why the police never did call me for a photo fit. Oh wait, Mas Salamat was/is more important than some penis attention. Sorry.

While I have some complains about the public transport, I will not say that I don’t love my country. I just love my country only. However, life has become stressful in some ways because if you are not promoted at work, you are screwed when you reached your 30s for a woman and 40s for a man. It isn’t written but it’s all in the mindset.

The future is scary because I know what I don’t want. However, I don’t know what I want. My elimination list is rather long at this moment and I hope that by the time I have eliminated 70%, I know what I want.

Donations. Something that is being done most of the time during crisis. The Myanmar’s encounter with Cyclone Nargis brought about an influx of requests for donations. Such is the time to request for money. What I can’t understand is why don’t they ever accept blankets, tents, clothes, food and other non-monetary stuff at such urgent times.

[via Flickr]

Isn’t that what the citizens need most at this time? They need food and water to be delivered as the water supply is not portable at this stage. Will money always solve it? Or it’s easier to transfer money as opposed to the manpower to manage the stuff that has been donated?

I have clothes that I don’t wear any more. Will they want or they prefer their clothes? Without blankets, won’t the people feel cold at night? Without tents for temporary lodging, will they feel cold when the wind is blowing, will they feel hot when the sun is shining down on them?

Money is easy to transfer but where is the money going to? Can it be used at the moment for buying medical stuff? Can it build the road faster? Will the money really be used to help the people instead of going into the pockets of those who should be helping the people?

After the NKF fiasco, one does wonder if the donations are really being used for the reasons that were supposedly stated. When I saw the way they dumped boxes of water and food from a helicopter without any parachutes to prevent the boxes from being smashed into smiterins, I wonder if China is truly giving the necessity such that the people feel that they are truly looked after.

I’m no longer sure if I’m donating to the right causes despite what the signboard says. I’m not that heartless but if proven that the donations are not going for the causes that is being stated, why should I donate to those who have too much authority over the money and used them for other purposes?

Related articles

• Small fraction of aid reaching Burma victims: UN [via Zemanta]
• Helping victims of Cyclone Nargis [via Zemanta]
• Battling to Save the Sick in Myanmar [via Zemanta]
• Heartbreaking Voices From Inside Myanmar [via Zemanta]
• China says earthquake may have killed 50,000 [via Zemanta]

I have always supported donations to charities. Not those using tin cans or flat bags telling kids they need some sort of community points in order to get to that polytechnic or junior college that they want to join.

They are legitimate but they don’t help me in telling the IRAS that I have done my donations in my name except I only get a sticker instead of telling them I have donated. Anyway, I digress. Violent Acres is holding a donation contest for 6 weeks.

The main reason is against child abuse, second, let’s wish him/her happy birthday. The charity’s name is West Valley Child Crisis Center. The amount can be any amount but if anyone gives US$0.01, that’s just plain insulting. Don’t donate in this case.

The target amount is US$10, 000. I think I can start contacting some charities if they have Paypal or I just set up one and send to their respective address to reduce my stress.

In life we need to get loans for expensive stuff such as buying cars and a flat. Everyone knows that you can’t possibly use all your money in the bank to pay off the car and flat. You need some sort of loan to pay off so that you are not financially strapped down paying the debts. Cash Advance may just provide you the necessary money.

You don’t need to have any credit checks unlike banks where they love to know your financial details such as income and CPF amount. Applying for one is easy, you don’t even have to leave your home.

Money is often an issue in the family. You want to hold a wedding dinner, you need money. You want to attend the university to pursue that coveted degree, you need money. You want to attend the F1 race, you need money. In fact, everything needs money.

My theory is just theory and should not be taken as the gospel truth.

1. Someone from up there is bound to find the tips that can help save money for the poor, middle and low income groups and file a new policy.
2. With the new policy, you won’t be able to get tax relief as the number of non-taxable ways will be reduced.
3. The new policy will also include more tax in addition to service tax, GST. They will name the new tax as “ATM” (Always Tax More).
4. Free tips means the one giving out free tips doesn’t get regconised.
5. The rich groups also practise these tips.
6. Everyone will be using these tips.
7. You have to fight with everyone because they are also using coupons, vouchers, etc.
8. And finally, there’s no such thing as free lunch, dinner or breakfast for that matter. Even hotel stays include the ‘free’ breakfast in the price itself.

Anyone else can provide more to include in the list?

I’ve had my share of searching for my web host until I settled on Dreamhost. With Bluehost, Host Gator, and many other choices out there, I was in a maze. With so many features and services provided by the hosts, I was totally lost. How to find the best web hosting company?

First, I had to check out the software that I wanted to use, Wordpress, what else? Next, the requirements for using it; MySQL, PHP and FTP. In addition, I like my site to be up 99.99% of the time. There’s always a down time for the servers to be maintained. Customer support is also an important factor. Finally, I needed to estimate my budget and the amount I was willing to pay.

After looking at feedback from forums and blogs, I chose what I felt was the best web hosting company. This sort of research took me some time as I wanted to be sure that the money spent was worth.

When I first started working, I wore T-shirts and jeans to work. I didn’t need to wear any formal clothes because I had to change into the uniform provided. I didn’t need to crack my head about what I was going to wear the next day.

After I changed my workplace, I had to do some shopping. I had no fashion sense whatsoever. My clothes were often of the plain old blouse with white and pink. Even my pants were of mostly the ’safe’ colour, black. I should have gone to check out New York fashion schools to help me in my fashion sense.

Maybe I could have taken a course with Westwood College Online that is a fashion school in New York to help me in merchandising. I could be earning my 1st million now and more after that. Who wouldn’t want to have a great sense of fashion and still be earning big bucks?

I now have too much clothes that I don’t wear that often. I still remember the 80/20 rule. 20% of the clothes are worn 80% of the time. I bet fashion schools New York would be able to help me.

I want to retire rich and young. Sounds like a dream, right? As long as I don’t take any action, it will always be a dream. Money doesn’t come easy. We have to work long days just earn that extra $100 for paying off the bills and have some for food.

While some may dabble in stocks, is there a way to be able to actually make a killing in stocks? That’s provided you know when to sell and when to buy. One doesn’t gamble in stocks, one makes use of stocks for getting out of the rut.

There’s a difference between trading, speculating and gambling. Obviously, since gambling is just putting your money without the odds being in your favour. Not everyone is able to go into trading and stay focused.

Trading needs a lot of effort to be put in the first time. You build up your own system and checklist that is working for you. You alone control where your money will go. You reduce your risks. Finance isn’t just about saving up for studies, retirement or kids. It’s for life.

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  [via Flickr]

Not everyone has credit cards. While it may not be good not to have, credit cards do help us during certain time such as paying for expensive weddings (you get more KrisFlyer Miles this way and still get that honeymoon you want) or treating every colleague because you are promoted or leaving. That is why some people have credit cards, to help them earn some cash too.

There are ways to save some cash on credit cards too. Consider the transfer interest rate and annual fees. Taking note of the upfront fees when withdrawing the money from the ATM is important as you don’t want to spend more than what you have planned.

You can also request for a lower rate by calling the banks with a little research before asking for a lower rate. You don’t want to jump into the water without knowing that there are piranhas, do you? Read here for a little more detail on interest rates when you don’t pay the bills in full.

Finally, before you apply for any credit card, check and compare credit cards.