#155 - economical crisis

i was watching the news and they were talking about consumerism, what we do the best. to me, this whole crisis should be a wake up call as to our spending habits. instead of encouraging people to control their spending, they are decreasing interest on loans and credit cards so that they can keep on. i do understand that a certain amount of consumerism is necessary to keep the economy rolling but on a personal level, i can control what i spend, period. i cannot control what is happening on the national or international level. sure, things will get more expensive and people will lose jobs. it is sad and scary and although i hope no one i know will be affected, i know they will. people are losing jobs everywhere. it is crazy.

i have been working on simplifying my life, which automatically means spending less or being more aware of what i am buying. i used to be quite the shopper but have never gone shopping on "black friday", the day after thanksgiving that has all the crazy sales at 4am. when there are sales you buy things you wouldn't normally buy. you spend money you don't need to spend. now when i buy things i am sure that they will last me longer and i get more from it. it needs to be something well-made and long-lasting. if i can borrow it, i do. if i can buy it second-hand, i do.

a lot of people say they shop on black friday so they can get christmas presents. every year christmas is less desirable to me. it is way too focused on consumerism and presents. it kind of defeats the whole purpose of christmas to me. lately i've been trying to make christmas presents, especially keeping in mind what people would use and love. i try to personalize it as much as i can. some things that i've made are shirts, bookmarks, and calendars. this year i am so far behind. i have no idea what i am doing this year. being a poor student i am sure people don't expect much but i still want to give some kind of gift.

this week is thanksgiving, a time to give thanks. there are so many things i am thankful for right now. we should be thankful everyday but when there is so much crap going on sometimes it's hard. in the span of about 12 hours i broke my phone and lost my bus pass (value of about $800). i blame working too much on those thing and being tired. thankfully my friend had an extra phone that works and i got a call this morning that someone turned in my pass! how amazing. i may complain about this or that but really i am so lucky and happy. i have a job, i am in school to get my RN soon, i have food to eat, a cool new house, friends, family and live in oregon. so many people have lost their jobs, are bankrupt, going through bad relationships, in jail, whatever...and so i have no right to complain. it's so much easier to be negative, i have to work on that.