Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Money Money Money

This morning there was an article in newspaper about one lady who had just passed away, she inherited a lot of money and since she had no spouse or children, there is a hunt to look for her nearest relatives, her aunts. She was fifty over years old, that makes her aunts…much older. They might have children though, the newspaper said the only clue they have is an old photograph of the lady and her two aunts, when she was, guess from the pictures, maybe eleven to twelve? The tricky thing is obvious, that would make a lot of people suddenly find themselves related to them. We are talking about hundreds of millions here, so it’s a lot of motive for gold digger or even ordinary fellows to take the opportunity. Anyway, looking at the picture, she looked like three quarter of Singapore population or even the entire world of Chinese. They say Chinese are look-alike, with award like that, even an angmoh would try to acknowledge themselves as relatives, if money was enough reason for them. Well, a lot of it.

Myself, I also don’t mind, of course, to find that I am actually related, to someone, somehow or whatever, who gives me a windfall out of nowhere, although I oppose strongly and accuse everyone of being stupid for believing the internet scam of some inheritance from distant relatives or some Nigerian scam.
But around this time of the year, especially, the tax month, when IRAS people try to take a piece of my hardwork away, I wish I had so much money that even I have to pay a lot of tax, I do have a lot of money to pay the tax from my money so I don’t need to worry about money bla bla bless…

Dreaming to be rich is almost everyone’s dream, although most people are not aiming for the money, but the pleasure it can gives. Every Wednesday and Saturday, I guess, there is a long row of queue in Mart outside my block until my block of people wanting to buy lottery, or similarly, people hitting the jackpot in the casino.
Sometimes I look at them and daydream, if I can make a machine that absorb these people’s wants, dreams, hope and pray, I can create an energy source that’s never going to run out. It’s so amazing that I bet there are more prayers in casinos than churches.
Sometimes I am tempted to think about taking a chances in lottery, apparently my friends also think the same, although we never had enough will to really step and buy them and joining hope with the others in the queue.

Although I’m not, and might not have a chance to be a millionaire (how would I if I don’t buy lottery) I sometimes think of what I’m going to do if I have a windfall, let’s say a million. I always stuck in three priority things, I wonder,
First is I want to have a pleasant property, a very nice place to live that I can decorate as I want, put as many things as I like, have specialized room for different activities, and enough places for me to own pet dogs, big and small ones, and oops, some box filled with liquid for us and us only to swim, maybe a gigantic water splash and spiral.
Second, travel around the world.
Third, a chance to bring everyone in my core family for a holiday together.

To my horror, one million sounds like not enough for those. Dang!
But don’t worry, try pass it to me, I would manage.

By the way, is there a chance that I’m related to that lady, far far away niece maybe?


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Money’s a horrid thing to follow, but a charming thing to meet.
- Henry James

Some people get so rich they lose all respect for humanity. That's how rich I want to be.
- Rita Rudner

I told the Inland Revenue I didn't owe them a penny because I lived near the seaside.
- Ken Dodd

All I ask is the chance to prove that money can't make me happy.
- Spike Milligan

Money can't buy you happiness but it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery.
- Spike Milligan

I have enough money to last the rest of my life, unless I buy something.
- Jackie Mason

Money can't buy you friends, but you get a better class of enemy.
- Spike Milligan

There will always be death and taxes; however, death doesn't get worse every year.
- Anonymous

They can't collect legal taxes from illegal money.
- Al Capone - protesting the IRS claiming large sums of unpaid back tax.

"Lottery: A tax on people who are bad at math."
- Seen on a bumper sticker