the joneses??

"Keeping up with the Joneses" is a popular catchphrase in many parts of the English-speaking world. It refers to the desire to be seen as being as good as one's neighbours or contemporaries using the comparative benchmarks of social caste or the accumulation of material goods. To fail to "keep up with the Joneses" is perceived as demonstrating socio-economic or cultural inferiority. Wikipedia

I hate that people feel they need to compete in terms of possessions and material goods.

I hate that people feel they need to buy things for their kids when they don't actually have enough money for them.

I understand parents want to bless their kids but have we lost all creativity resulting in Presents equal Love.

I was chatting to a friend of mine and she was telling me how Christmas, New Years and her daughter's birthday had really taken a toll financially. She was saying she is now broke with no money for the son's birthday (in 3 weeks) and no money for school books when school returns (in 2 weeks). This really saddened me.

The kids had both been given portable DVD players for Christmas along with many other presents and the daughter a mobile phone for her birthday (she is 13).

I know I am not a parent and I probably don't understand what its like, but to spend so much on these events which results in no school books seems so backwards.

I hate that people feel they must buy so crazy over Christmas and it puts them into debt. I hate the way credit cards are given out so freely resulting in thousands in debt. According to an article in The Age, September 21, 2007 (yeah I know its kinda old), 'Credit card debt in Australia has topped $41 billion'. And so much is wasted. In Clive Hamilton's book Affluenza he states Australian households throw out $8 billion of food a year. That is a hell of a lot of food considering some areas of the world are dieing from malnutrition. But that is all another story.

I don't think changing standards of what society believe are necessary items will ever happen. People are greedy and markets are powerful and that cannot be over thrown.

But I do believe education is possible, and if we understand to spend what we have we can hopefully change the psyche of society.

By the way, it's not just the people who don't have much money who can't control it, its people in all wealth brackets who don't know how to budget and as a result overspend.So the theory then goes.. If we learn to budget we can say 'Screw you Joneses, Im in control of who i am' which in my opinion is much better than having the newest Playstation.

tobacco.

so sitting here, listening to sigur ros, loving the beauty of Gods creation, hating the sickly way man has screwed up what life should be.
cigarettes:

i mean why? what good is there? i should get this out of the way before is get too into it; i have never smoked and hope never to (apart from a puff here and there).

i hate the adictive nature of it, the way it draws in people and leaves them unable to cope without it.

i observed a lady today at work whos first thoughts were to get a packet of smokes even though she hadnt eaten all day and needed food. i dont understand and i hate the way it has a hold of her. i hate the way it has made her weak and has taken priority in her life. i hate it.

i hate the way it is connected to politics. you cant deny the fact governments get a hell of alot of money from tobacco, but how sad is the world we live in that they use this and take advantage of people.

it is currently law that tobacco companys can not print the strength of tobacco on a packet of cigarettes in a bid to not show some cigarettes a 'weaker' than others and hence healthier. this is a big problem as it not only means the companys dont have to tell you whats in the cigarettes but also the customer doesnt know the strength of the cigarette. new, cheaper smokes have been introduced onto the market yet they dont tell you what strenths they are, so you have people guessing buying cigarettes stronger then they usually buy and hence getting more addicted.
i hate this cycle and i can only pray more kids dont start smoking.

i guess its the same as gambling and alchol. both create addictive non-essential behaviors that are financially and socially detremental.

anyway thats enough of me. if you want to real somthing really interesting.. cheak out an interview here of a man who i admire alot. aaron weiss from mewithoutYou.

annoyances

i truly hate guys who mock other women who dress with hardly any clothes on.
ive been down mooloolaba esplanade many times and had friends laugh about girls quite drunk stumbling down the street probley freezing but still half naked.

this is a big problem and i hate the hypocrisy of it all.
i mean why do girls were close to nothing?
to get the attention and admiration of guys.

so if guys were serious about it and showed love to those girls no matter what they were wearing then maybe some of the women would gain the integrity to wear more.

i truly believe thats the only way things will change.
the guys making the sincere effort.
sure us girls need to continue to love on them and set the example of dressing but it needs a whole wack from the guys side.

im mean if that isnt the case. if they do prefer women to wear close to nothing for them to gaze at..
then dont mock them. leave them alone for you to stare at.

all they want is a bit of love.
thats all we all want.

that is all.. for now..