Money Talk

Some people say bad luck comes in threes. Now I don’t normally subscribe to this kind of ‘belief’ but I’ve had three recent ‘misfortunes’ as follows.

#1: My dad came over to micasa with an Indonesian worker while I was away at work a fortnight ago to cut the grass. He called me later that evening to ask about the back fence which had been cut apart. That was news to me too (yes, I somehow managed not to notice it before) and true enough, the back fence was indeed ripped apart. That probably explained why I felt some unease while I was in Europe.

So now I have to build a brick wall around my backyard to prevent further transgressions in the future. What does all this mean? Yes, I need to fork out money for that (and have to inform the neighbours of the job too).

*$!GH*

#2: I had just finished my ironing chore on Thursday evening when I heard the sound of dripping water from my bathroom. A check revealed that it came from the bidet and while I could turn off the tap which supplies both the cistern and bidet to stop the flow of water, that meant that the water in the cistern would not be replenished... and every time I tried to fill up the cistern, the dripping resumed.

So yes, that called for a plumber and money going down the drain. My mate suggested someone from his residential area over the chap I called to fix the hose to my washing machine. He came yesterday, he looked honest enough and he fixed my bathroom up and cleared the clogged sink as well.

*$!GH*

#3: I lost yet another anklet on Friday – third time unlucky at losing them anklets now! Add that to the broken clasp of my bangle, the twirled bracelet which has been unravelling itself somehow for some time now, and the earrings I broke while sleeping in a cramped tent in Mina during Hajj – which I have to repair or replace – maybe I should just stop wearing jewellery altogether.

Did I ever mention I am high-maintenance? *$!GH*

So I went out on Saturday for retail therapy to cheer myself up. Nothing like some beauty care product and a pair of four-inch open-toe slingback heels to help restore a girl’s spirits.

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I know it’s already ‘stale’ news but I’m sure we’re all still reeling from the shock of the recent fuel hike. Yes, I know it was inevitable, that we could not be depending on subsidy until kingdom come but couldn’t the Government have made it a gradual increase instead? All this after assuring the masses that any fuel price rise would only be made in August.

I can’t help thinking and wondering about all the chain reaction, the super duper price inflation that will ensue in all other aspects of everyday life. Everything will rise in turn, everything but our wages. How will the village folks cope? How will the low middle-income families cope while trying to put some family members into school? And the thing is, we are still a net oil producer. And I read that the US actually has large oil reserves (correct me if I’m wrong) and that the reason for the high price of oil per barrel is because of the depreciating greenback than because of supply problems (again I stand corrected).

So why the recent fuel price hike then? To help the Government pursue its 9MP? How many times have the public had the wool pulled over its eyes? How stupid does the Government take us for? How much longer do we have to take this, be treated like we don’t matter and our voices don’t count? And the very bloody people who are harping on the masses to change our lifestyles are the very ones who won’t be doing anything about changing theirs. As for me, I’ve learnt from a young age how to take public transportation and have already been taking it for as long as I can remember because Abah absolutely loathes being caught in the crazy Jalan Ampang traffic and he takes public transportation as far as possible too. For the record, there’s nothing wrong and nothing to be ashamed of in taking public transportation and yet when I explain to people I take the bus, I’m always met with a blank look, or worse, having to bear the brunt of their irritating jokes. I find it’s those out-of-state ‘settlers’ who settle in KL who don’t take public transportation and who add to the KL traffic woes. And while I won’t be buying a car any time soon (if at all), I’ll still be affected as many more make the change and take the public transportation. But is the public transportation network ready for us?

And to those politicians, stop telling us that our fuel is still among the lowest-priced in the region, that it’s still cheaper compared to Thailand or Singapore because we don’t live in those countries and sure don’t earn their wage!

So shoot us already

For die-hard drivers, check this out for some tips on how to negate fuel price increase.

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And now I shall attempt to end this entry with some cheer (not easy when there seems to be nothing but doom and gloom in this time of high fuel cost and soaring food prices): Euro2008 kicked off at long last after midnight on Saturday. Here’s to three weeks of late nights, early mornings, sleepy days at the office and late-night gorging on chocolates and Häagen-Dazs!