Counting Potatoes

Counting Potatoes

Its something most people do for most of their lives. A story goes that for every person you hate, for every real or imagined 'wrong' you intend to set right, and for every regret or frustration we carry around, there is a potato that hangs from your neck. Angst filled and emo driven people have a whole necklace of them. Quarrelsome people carry them as talismans of bravery and pride. Martyrs drown themselves in them while gossip mongers collect them.

Listen to the buzz around you. Seldom would you hear neighbors talking about the current financial crisis or political situation. Take notice of what gets talked about during family gatherings and Long distance calls. I'll bet most of what you'll hear isnt about good tidings and cheer. If you listen closely enough, you could almost hear the potatoes roll on the ground all the way up to their necks.

The funny thing about all these potatoes hanging around people's necks is the fact that when they begin to rot and give off that fart-like smell, most people would rather suffer its smell their whole lives rather than throw the whole bunch away. In fact, some people would even go around hooking up with other potato-ladened people to discuss the rotting potatoes on their necks, add yet more potatoes and sometimes wonder why their lives are filled with that pervading stink.


The potatoes can even come from people we dont know or events we only hear about. My father spends a considerable time watching the news. Just the other day, he saw this piece about the PNP, jokjok volante and a whole lot of cash... WHHHAAMMM!! one potato assimilated! Got himself all riled up all afternoon in the process and the whole country didnt care.


A group of our relatives has that nasty habit of coveting their neighbor's goods. Having mastered the art of obsessing over the number of piglets, sacks of palay, parked vehicles, home improvements and other things of note in their neighbor's property, they have made it their mission to come up with 101 ways of how to seize the coveted property - from legal means to outright use of force, from being two-faced 'friends' to outright smear campaigns. The neighbors in question know about this but just dont care. They've just recently added 3 piglets to their investments. Our relatives in turn got 3 additional potatoes around their necks.


As for me. I try my best not to collect potatoes and have conciously thrown away most of those that have accumulated over the years. I have found that a potatoeless life is a lot less complicated, a lot happier and gives the most odds of success. I have also realized that losing sleep because of anger, frustration, regrets or hate is not only a miserable way to spend the night but quite pointless too.


Now I find most things that used to disrupt my inner peace quite funny. Used to fume about bitchy salesladies and swindler taxi drivers. Now I find it funny that these people will ultimately have to live with the consequences of their shortcomings. 10 years from now, they'll probably still be bitchy salesladies and unprincipled drivers - only 10 years older, with a lot less opportunities still open and 10,000 more potatoes around their necks. That in itself is a sweeter revenge than anything I could come up with. He he


I still take notice of all the potatoes rolling around though - all destined to be on somebody's neck. Sometimes I even take the time to muse about some of them as they roll by, wondering if a life of potato stink is worth it for some people. So if by chance you see me downtown, staring at something with a goofy smile on my face, please walk on by. I'm probably collecting info for a new blog, laughing my ass off in my mind while counting them potatoes as they roll by.

	Counting Potatoes

The Red Queen and The Rat

“It Takes All The Running You Can Do, To Keep In the Same Place”





It’s an interesting phrase that can be found in Lewis Carroll’s book “Through the Looking Glass”. Aside from that, the “Red Queen Hypothesis”, is actually an evolutionary theory concerning the advantage of sexual reproduction as well as the evolutionary arms race of competing species. Interesting theories in themselves, (brings to mind a group of guys in a bar all looking at the same girl) but that’s for another story.

The phrase strikes a deep chord though, one of fear, not of the unknown perhaps but of the unexplained. Because no matter how high or how low our regular salaries or profits are, at the end of the month, most of us inevitably find ourselves back in square one (with the question WHY?? somewhere in the backs of our minds) - waiting for the bills to arrive, the rent to come due, and the groceries to run out. It’s like going round and round a monopoly board with expenses instead of properties on the boxes. Groceries, baby formula, rent, electric bill, telephone bill and so on and so forth. You pass go, collect your 500, and the torture goes on.

Kiyosaki actually used another term to describe this phenomenon, “The Rat Race” - which basically describes how Yuppies (young professionals) expend their lives locked in a vicious cycle between earning and spending, living to eat and eating to live, or as Madam Rempillo would probably say it – “Isang Kahig, Isang Tuka”.

Consider our lives seen through the eyes of a pet hamster:

His mater graduates and lands his first job.

His master gets his first paycheck = Treats parents, friends and girlfriend, buys an Ipod and a new 3G phone.

His master becomes a regular employee = Gets his own apartment or condo (now has to pay rent, electricity and buy groceries).

His master becomes eligible for his first credit card = makes it a hobby to furnish apartment or condo using credit card (acquires the following in succeeding months - large screen TV, Dual Core laptop, trip to Boracay, aircon, microwave oven, new wardrobe, etc). Now he has to pay for his monthly credit card bill on top of the rent, the groceries and the utility bills (which have also risen substantially because of the new appliances).

His Master gets a pay raise or a promotion = Buys a sleek looking, brand new car on loan. Now master has to include payments for car and budget for gas and maintenance in his monthly budget on top of the payments for the credit card, the rent, the groceries (which are also increasing in monthly volume) and the utility bills.

(if you may have noticed, this is starting to sound a bit like the drinking song “may pulis sa ilalim ng tulay”)

By this time, his master is making a substantial amount of money every month. Moreover, his master has begun looking ahead and has started building up a savings account. The monthly expenses may have bloated to gigantic proportions and the credit card and auto loan may extend well into the future, but as of now master seems to have it all under control. Or so he thought…

His master falls in love with the girl he has been sneaking into his apartment and is now planning on getting married! = master now has to save money for the upcoming wedding on top of the car loan, the credit card loan, the car’s gas, the car’s maintenance, the rent, the groceries (which has grown to include condoms, love candles and massage oil) and the utility bills. Of course, master can always use his already substantial savings.

His master gets married and moves in to a bigger apartment or buys his own house = Thank God the girl master has married has her own job! Master and missus though now have to pay for the bigger apartment or a house loan, have to sell the old car for a bigger one, gets another car loan, furnishes new house with credit card and so has to pay for all of this on top of the credit card payments for the wedding and the honeymoon, the utility bills and the groceries.

His Master impregnates his woman and now has a kid = by this time, master and missus are now very busy with their work in order to qualify for a raise or a promotion. After all, they have to save up for the kid’s education and his monthly needs on top of the car payments, the house mortgage, the gas, the groceries, the car maintenance, the house maintenance, the utility bills, the nanny salary, etc.

“It Takes All the Running You Can Do, To Keep In the Same Place”

Although the master looks tired, he is laughing with his wife as they watch the master run round and round in his hamster wheel. Hamster looks very silly, they say.

Hamster continues running and thinks to himself:

“LOOK WHO’S TALKING!”

A friend once said to me “it’s not what you earn, it’s what you spend”. This said after spending the whole afternoon window shopping and coming home with only a ballpoint pen as his purchase. He sure did hit the nail right on the head with that one.

**

Note: I have originally meant to discuss several options in this blog that will enable people to get out of the so called “rat race” but I guess I got carried away by the hamster’s story. Oh well, that’s for another blog then.:)

	The Red Queen and The Rat

Down the Golden Brick Road

Maybe it’s just as well that I use children story references in a Blog that’s supposed to talk about money. (I started with “Alice in Wonderland”, the Red Queen and the Hamster in the other blog, might as well do the same on this one, he he) After all, weren’t we somehow taught about money when we were just kids? The ant and the grasshopper (the value of saving money), the golden goose (money management), the turtle and the rabbit (the value of perseverance and long term investments), the Fox and the Crow (protecting oneself from scams), etc, are all surprisingly still very applicable to our present day money problems.

If you were not listening then, then perhaps your present day money worries should compel you to listen to them now. So curl up and fix yourself a hot cup of chocolate drink, or a bottle of beer, or whatever you think is best. Maybe you just need to take a trip back in time to finally find your way to the golden brick road.:)

The Ant and the Grasshopper

…tell you what.. maybe I’ll just skip the story and get straight to point.. Let’s not embarrass ourselves any more than we have to, he he

The Ant and the Grasshopper story is basically about the value of saving for the rainy season. Grasshopper played all summer while little ant stocked up on his food inventory. Along came the rains and grasshopper ended up living with the ant and eating little ant’s food. Little ant probably ends up being eaten by grasshopper as well but that’s beside the point. (Beware of grasshoppers that come knocking at your door!)

Anyways, the moral of the story is to always save enough for the rainy days (rainy days in our case are retrenchments, retirement, emergencies, etc.) Easier said than done!, you might say and you will be right. If saving money were so easy, I wouldn’t be writing this blog now, wouldn’t I? Moreover, you wouldn’t be spending your time reading “children stories” too, right? he he

The problem with saving money doesn’t stem from the fact that you don’t earn enough, it stems from the fact that you spend too much. Consider your monthly salary and your monthly expenses, better yet, write them down. Because if you don’t have any money left at the end of each month, then maybe its time to start dissecting your expenses and trim it down.

Your accomplished list will look more or less like this:

Income (from work): (your salary less the taxes)

Secondary Income (from raket, gig, part time job, parents, etc): (0 for most, for those still being supported by their parents, you lucky bastards! He he)

Residual Income: (Income you get even without working): (interest payments from bank account, stocks, etc) (substantial for a few, minimal for some, and a dream for most)

Expenses:

Rent or Mortgage Payments: (usually a fixed amount)

Food Budget: (The kryptonite of my budget, have a bad habit of spending more as money becomes less to ward off depression, he he)

Utility Bills: (water, electricity, cable, cellphone, telephone, internet, LPG or gas, etc)

Groceries: (this includes your midnight snack inventory, your toiletries, dog food – for the dog, household supplies like detergent, bleach, etc)

Transportation Budget: Unless you work at home like me.:)

Loan Payments: For your credit card, for the loan shark, for your mortgage, for the car, for your implants, etc, etc.

Entertainment Budget: For the trips to the mall, for the gifts for your girlfriend, for the pirated DVDs you buy, for the trips to you-know-what places, for the concert tickets, etc, etc.

Ok, so now comes the hard. Remember the EQ test shown in TV commercials a while back? Remember the marshmallow and the fact that the baby isn’t supposed to get it? Well, for this discussion, that baby is you. Financial stability after all is intimately related to deferred gratification or the lack of it.

So if you want to save money, keep your hands off that marshmallow!

If you got enough balls to ask your boss for a raise though, you can skip the rest of this section. If not, let’s roll up our sleeves and find a way to trim down those expenses. (Let’s worry about the lack of balls later).

Expenses

Rent: Do you really need such a large or expensive place? If yes, maybe you can rent out the extra room instead? If not, then maybe its time to look for a cheaper pad.

Food Budget: Eating out is expensive, cooking your own meals is not. At least, up to a certain extent. Also, this will also enable you to put your neglected refrigerator into good use.

Utility Bills: Turn off that Aircon, make sure the room is adequately sealed, use it sparingly or at least dial it down a few notches, remember this adds at least P3,000 to your monthly bill. Buy your own washing machine instead of having your clothes laundered, this may cost a lot initially and will cost you extra for the electricity but you’ll eventually recoup your investment after a few months. Think about subscribing to a lower cost internet, phone, cellhpone or cable TV plan if you don’t use these that much. Use internet calls instead of long distance calls. Use florescent lights instead of ordinary ones, they use much less electricity. Conserve water, flush your toilet bowl once a week, he he. By reducing your utility bills alone and paying them on time (to avoid interest charges), you can save as much as P4,000 monthly.

Groceries: Buy in Bulk, This not only saves you several trips to the convenience store (transpo cost), it also gives you the opportunity to rack up your shopping points, get discounts, join promos, etc. prices in convenience stores are also way higher than those in shopping malls.

Transportation Budget: Get your car in tiptop shape, it may cost a lot initially but you’ll recoup your expenses through less gas (higher efficiency engine), less maintenance costs and less major repairs. Carpool with your neighbours, friends and anyone else who are interested. This way, you get to save gas money without sacrificing your convenience. Budget your time, this saves you from having to take a taxi because you are already late. Ask for a discount if there are no more seats on the bus, he he.

Loan Payments: Remember that credit cards charge at least 3% in interest rates every month. Consider it as your little loan shark. This means that for every P10,000 purchase, you pay P300 in interest charges every month non withstanding late fees and other hidden charges. Pay in cash if you can afford to do so or try to pay off your credit card loans as soon as possible.

Entertainment Budget: Ehe he, if you’re a girl, find a boyfriend as soon as possible and make this item HIS problem. If you’re a guy, bash your girlfriend on the head with the “equality between the sexes” line. Buy plastic flowers instead of real ones and reuse them every valentines, he he he. Kidding aside, have a definite schedule and a budget for this item monthly.

You save 50% or more on your rent, say at least P2500, at least P3000 on your food budget, more or less P4000 on your utility bills (especially if you have deactivated your aircon), at least P500 off your grocery expense, at least P1000 off your transportation budget, At least P500 from loan payments, and last at least P1000 off your entertainment budget.

That’s at least P12,500 monthly that you can direct to your savings account! P150,000 a year! Which brings me to my next point: How much should you save and how much you should invest?

The Golden Goose

Remember the story about the goose and the golden eggs? Well, for this discussion, consider everything that comes in the income portion of your income statement as the golden eggs (salary, dividends from investments, interest from time deposit account, profits from business, etc). The golden goose (or geese for grammar’s sake) on the other hand are the money vehicles that are making this cash influx possible (stocks you own, business, your job, etc). Stephen Covey calls them the p/pc or production and production capacity.

The rule of the game is actually very simple (you can write this down): DO NOT KILL THE GOLDEN GOOSE. Instead, make it fat, make it grow, sing to it, encourage it to flirt with other Ganders (male goose) on a regular basis, anything that’s going to make it lay more golden eggs.

Now that you have the eggs DO NOT PUT THEM ALL IN THE SAME BASKET or diversify in financial lingo. This means put some in your regular savings account (4-6 months worth of salary), put some in a time deposit account, set aside some in insurance or college finds (for your kids), and invest the rest in money vehicles.

WHY? You may ask. After all, keeping it in the bank seems perfectly fine. Well, the answer lies in the fact that you actually lose money in the bank in the long run.

Consider:

The banks pay you 1-2% in interest for your money in their savings account and 4-5% for your time deposit accounts. This means that your P100,000 savings will earn P1000-2000 in a year’s time. A P100,000 time deposit account on the other hand will earn P4000-5000 pesos in a year’s time.

Your P100,000 peso savings then becomes P102,000 (if kept in a regular savings account) or P105,000 (if kept in a time deposit account). Not bad right?

Wrong! The average annual inflation rate is more or less 7%. This means that the peso loses 7% of its value (the amount of good that it can buy) in a yearly basis. Taking the inflation rate into consideration, this means that your P100,000 is actually worth only P93,000 the following year. Add the interest your bank has given you and you still fall short of what you have actually deposited. (P98,000)

Money vehicles are those options that will give you a return for your money higher than the inflation rate (7% interest rate of higher). What are these?

Stock Market: When you buy a stock, you essentially get to own a small piece of a public company. Consequently, you also get to share in its annual profit (dividends) and the value of the stock itself increases over time. The big question here is: will the company grow and make a profit? If not, you lose a lot of money. Market volatility aside, stocks offer some of the highest possible returns for your money (10-20% if you’re good). You will just have to mitigate your risk by learning about the ins and outs of the market.

Bonds Market: When you buy a bond, you agree to lend corporations or the government money at an interest of course. You earn money by cashing in your bond before or when it matures. Because this is a low risk investment, the returns are also lower. (8-10% for usual bonds)

Mutual Funds Market: When you buy a mutual fund, you are essentially pooling in your money with other investors. Your money is then invested in several stocks, bonds or other mutual funds. For most people, this is a lot safer than investing in stocks because the risks are dispread out over several stocks, bonds, etc.

Take note that the more effort you put in and the higher the risks are for the money vehicles, the higher your possible returns. This is why the highest returns are realized when you do business. Consider the following simple examples:

Sari-Sari (Convenience Stores): Convenience stores usually mark up the price of their products by 15%. This means that the Ligo sardines you have just bought for P10.00 is actually only worth P8.50 if you buy it in bulk from the supermarkets. For the sake of simplicity, let us assume that complete inventory turnover (all products bought are sold within a time frame) is once a month and the inventory value is P100,000. This is a P15,000 or 15% gross profit monthly or a gross interest of 180% every year!

Of course, then you’ll have to contend with Inday and her irritating habits, you’ll also have to pay for the rent, the utilities and the personnel.

Microfinancing: Have you ever noticed those dark colored guys with the weird accent (DVD/VCD?) making daily rounds in the supermarket carrying their lists and their umbrella? They usually have red colored scooters they use to move from place to place.

These guys lend money at an interest of 10% every month. They don’t require collaterals, papers, or anything and they usually loan out amounts in denominations of P10,000. Imagine P100,000 loaned out to 10 different people at 10% a month. This is a 120% interest in your money in a year’s time!

Then again, these guys have to contend with irate fish vendors armed with bolos and knives in a daily basis. He he he.

The Turtle and the Rabbit, The Fox and The Crow

Always keep in mind that since the rate of return for your money is always ALWAYS proportional to the risks you have to take, get rich quick offers and those that generally sound too good to be true are ALMOST ALWAYS scams.

Use your head and don’t stretch your neck out too far. Slowly and surely ALMOST ALWAYS beats the fast and dangerous approach to managing your money. Remember that money isn’t as much as a tangible thing but a product of the mind and making it more about mitigating risks than taking them head on.

In Ayn Rand’s words “Money Will Not Serve the Mind that Cannot Match It.”

So use your head before clicking your heels.

See you down the golden brick road!!

	Down the Golden Brick Road

The Devil Wears Plastic

Unlike before when the devil comes to you whispering in dark halls and eerie nights, today’s devil comes with an application form and beautiful sexy sales reps. It doesn’t have the traditional horns and spiked tail but it does have a smooth finish, a new age look and is 3-1/2 inches long by 2 inches wide. You don’t even have to rub it to get the dark genie out ready to grant you your three wishes in exchange for your soul. All you have to do is SWIPE it.

Swipe the Tears Away!

Yup, for some (and this is a growing number), swiping the plastic has indeed become the new opiate or elixir, a temporary way out of the regular hustle and bustle of life, a small taste of luxury, and perhaps a good exercise guaranteed to drive away those negative thoughts brought about by boredom, quarrels with a loved one or financial pressure.

You don’t have to asses, to consider or even to think before pulling out the plastic. In fact, most of the people behind this innovation will even go to extraordinary lengths to discourage you from doing it. The only question they want you to answer is: DO YOU WANT IT? If yes, then proceed to the cashier. If you’re having second thoughts, then perhaps the 0% INTEREST, LIMITED STOCKS ONLY, LIMITED SALE, 50% DISCOUNT OR FREE GADGETS will help you forget the objections cropping up from somewhere in the back of your sane mind.

Yup, impulse shopping has never been easier and consumerism never more profitable. However, it is not the presence of this little devil in our wallets that’s bad, its how our mind evolves or adapts to this magic card that’s dangerous.

Wants over Needs

Plastic has blurred the lines between wants and needs until both are almost indistinguishable from each other. Consider… the definition of basic needs encompasses a person’s need for food, clothing and shelter. The post industrial or information age has given us some additional ones like education, insurance, utilities, etc. Of course, even our basic needs are subject to moderation. Food may be needed but caviar, fillet mignon and restaurant food is not. Likewise for the other needs.

Needs are defined as such because we cannot survive or live well without having them, and because of this, financial stability is its cornerstone. This means that although we can spend some of our money on entertainment and wants, we should always keep the big picture in mind – enough money to raise a family in the future, enough savings to cover emergencies, enough money to build a house or enough savings to live on comfortably without working in the event of medical emergencies, etc.

Needs (like a house) however are more often than not big investments, one that needs a lot of preparation, planning and sacrifices. Wants on the other hand are oftentimes small or medium sized expenses like buying a large screen TV, a car, new set of clothes, eating out, going on a vacation to Boracay, etc. Because of their ease of acquisition and ability to provide instant gratification, wants oftentimes overcome our needs. Impulse wins over caution and what feels good becomes confused with what is financially right.

EQ Deficiency Syndrome

Plastic tempts us to focus in the now and because of its easy instalment plans, it gives us the power as well as the means to give in to our weaknesses and desires almost immediately. It discourages growth and maturity that comes from saving, financial planning and deferred gratification. Because of this, a growing number of plastic infected people are finding their will to resist these financially debilitating temptations getting weaker and weaker. After all, a little shopping every now and then wouldn’t hurt right? Yup, but how much do these shopping expeditions total in a year’s time and what long term plans have you sacrificed for these small trips?

Abstract Electronic Money

With Plastic, it becomes a lot easier to think of money as an abstract thing. The fact that we don’t see it makes it easier for us to believe that things are easier to acquire than usual. After all, isn’t it much easier to buy an Iphone using a credit card wherein you don’t see any money changing hands than having to withdraw a thick roll of bills and having to hand it over to the cashier?

The sad fact is, electronic money is just as hard to come by and is just as valuable as real money. You may not see it, but you’ll have to work just as hard to earn it in the long run. Everything adds up somewhere down to the last cent. So you may indeed spend more than you earn, but you definitely cannot earn more than you work.

No, you don’t get to read about these dangers of using plastic in the fine print you sign, you dont see any government warnings on the cover or need any psychiatric score to be eligible for it . All they need before getting you to sign the contract is an assurance that you wont check out before cashing in. As with any other contract with the devil, you have to read between the lines and bite beneath the sugar coated glaze to fully understand what you have gotten yourself into.

The Devil’s Contract

At the surface, the use of plastic may seem like a simple, safe and easy way of doing monetary transactions. Scratch the surface and you will see that the target of this card is not so much as to give you a safer and easier way of spending, but to capture something more valuable, your mind.

Like the TV ads of cosmetic products that have moulded our perceptions regarding beauty, plastic ultimately aims to control our perceptions regarding money - how we spend it, where we spend it and how much we spend of it. Hence, the American dream, the Model Yuppie, and the image/comfort conscious culture that permeates our society. Everywhere you look, you see ads about happy people walking around with shopping bags, grinning yuppies with sporty looking cars and sleek cellphones, and blissful women decked out in signature clothes and branded footwear.

Plastic sells not a different mode of doing monetary transactions but a different way of thinking, one that involves getting what we want before even earning the right to have it, one that is focused on emotions, insecurities and weaknesses instead of logic and one that sacrifices long term stability to short term superficial gratification.

Here’s the Real Contract;

Instant Gratification to Long Term Slavery

Plastic gives you the power to satisfy your every want for a price: months or even years of work in the future. Buy now, pay later. What this means is that because you gave in to your impulse, you lose a bit of freedom in directing your financial path - at least in the short to medium term future. Your salary for this month will go to paying for your indulgences during the past year and not as savings for your plans for the next year.

Short Term Wants VS. Long Term Goals

A big screen TV, a microwave, a new cellphone and other non essential things take the place of long term savings, money to build a house, send the kids to school, help your family, be financially stable, etc. The more we use the plastic, the harder it becomes for us to keep our eyes on the goals that really matter and the things that will help make our lives a LOT easier in the future. In the end, plastic replaces financial freedom with financial slavery.

Get Less for More

Interest charges and hidden fees make us pay more for things that could’ve cost less. What’s the difference of buying a Cybershot camera now using your plastic and buying it a year from now using cash? The answer is price and time. You pay more for the gratification of being able to use it right away. That's the power of money working against you!

Don’t be fooled by the 0% interest gimmicks you see in most stores too. Yes, you indeed pay 0% interest to the store you bought the product from, but you will still have to pay your credit card company its 3% monthly interest. It’s confusing yes, but that’s the name of the game.

Miss some payments and you just might find yourself paying more than double the price of your purchases because then the interest rates skyrockets from 3% to more than 20% - some people even spend most of their lives paying the interest without touching the capital - A hefty price indeed to pay for instant gratification.

We may call ourselves civilized and urbane, laugh or deride those people committing suicide bombings over in Iraq, but isn’t plastic-swiping induced financial suicide much the same thing as suicide bombing using C4 plastic? At least they get their 40 virgins, we on the other hand, end up with 40 credit collectors, he he. This brings me to my next topic.

The Hidden Strings of Plastic

Plastic in itself is not bad, as with any other tool, it is how we use it that determines our fate. As with any other weapon, the best way to make sure that you don’t blow your brains out or unintentionally slice off your appendages is to get to know it better. In this case, maybe it’s best to start with how financial companies profit from your use of the plastic.

Merchant Fee: Merchant fee is what the retailers pay for every customer purchase done through a certain credit card. Usually, the more people there are using a certain card the higher the merchant fees the retailer has to pay. This is because it wouldn’t have been possible for a sale to take place without that credit card in between.

Annual fee: Annual fee is what we pay for the right to hold on to our credit cards on a yearly basis. This could range from P1,000 to P2,000. That means that even without using the credit card, we still have to shell out some money. Think of it as some sort of an insurance premium.

Monthly Interest: Monthly interest is what we pay the credit card companies for loaning us the money to buy the things that we want. In our country, this could range from 2.5% to 3.5%+ per month. Of course, should you miss out on some payment dates, this could jack up to 20% or more on a monthly basis. Keep up the non-payments and pretty soon you may find the interest amount dwarfing your original debt. This is because, the higher your credit risk is, the higher the interest rates you will have to pay.

Late Fee: On top of the increased interest rates, we will still have to pay late fees should we miss out our payment dates.

Overlimit Fee: Go above your credit limit and the banks will fine you a corresponding amount. Of course, seeing that your credit limit is usually far greater than your monthly salary (thus low low chances of paying off your loan in less than a month), the banks will also be looking forward to charging you with their monthly interest.

Cash Advance Fee: Should you use your credit card to withdraw money from ATMs instead of outright purchases, you will be charged the cash advanced fee which will be included on top of your monthly interest payments.

The annual and hidden fees alone are enough to warn you about the dangers of using your plastic irresponsibly. Add to this the interests rates that are proportional to your credit risk and you will see the full extent of the potential financial quicksand you could find yourself into.

In this sense, do you think it would be in the credit card company's interest if you pay on time? What about if you spend less and save more? However big your income stream may be, unless you can leverage your credit card spending, this plastic will act much like a financial leech sucking away your financial strength.

Free Money

A news article just recently featured a story about a glitch on a Big store's credit card application program which accidentally approved high credit limits to all applicants. As the plastic rolled out, people were dancing in the streets and splurging like there's no tomorrow - all the while shouting FREE MONEY!

Free money? What happens when the credit card bills roll in? Unless these people file for bankruptcy, there's no way on this earth that they can avoid paying up eventually. Free money is much like garbage magically disappearing in a puff of smoke.

The Credit Death Row

Should you find yourself out of luck and out of money to pay off your credit card debts, the worse thing you can probably do is to run away and pretend that everything’s ok. Why? Because the banks have already perfected the art of collecting money from debtors who run away while you haven’t yet perfected the art of hiding. Short of getting a new name, acquiring a fake visa and passport, forgetting your family and everyone close to you and having a plastic surgery, there is no way that you can run away from the banks. Add this to the fact that the interest rates they use increases the more you hide and you will just find yourself in deeper shit than if you confronted them in the first place.

So… what to do?

The very first thing you should do if to do damage control, take charge of the situation and salvage whatever you can from the mess. Nothing’s going to change the fact that you’re in the shit pit anyway so better start crawling towards the light one small inch at a time.

Lifestyle Change

Einstein once said that you cannot solve a problem using the same level of thinking that got you into it in the first place. What this means in financial terms is to take control of your finances and minimize the spending that got you into this debt. If you’re accustomed to spending more than you’ve earned, then no amount of financial help is going to have much effect unless you strike at the root of the problem – learn how to spend less (considerably less) than what you earn and find ways to earn more.

Take a jeepney instead of a taxi to work, move to a smaller place, sell some of your things, work for that promotion, etc. (read more from the blog: down the golden brick road). By doing this, you can set aside an amount of money that you can use to pay off your debts or open new earning opportunities. Moreover, this would also enable you to gain some credibility when you say that you can pay off your debts – thus you become less of a credit risk and you can negotiate for better terms.

Take Out Smaller Interest Loans

Credit cards charge some of the highest loans you see in the market 3%-20+% monthly. What this means is that by taking out loans from other institutions and using it to pay off your credit card debts, you can save a lot of money from the lower interest rates. This means that you can concentrate on paying off the principal and ending the cycle of debt faster than if most of your money goes into paying the interest charges.

Here are some sources of loans that charges lower interest rates:
1. Salary Loans
2. Personal Loans – from family, friends, etc.
3. Government Loans (SSS. GSIS. Etc)

Note: Don’t take out a loan from those charging a higher rate of interest than your credit card company. An example of this is taking out a loan from a loan shark [5-6] (20% monthly interest) to pay off your credit card debts. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself in deeper trouble.

Negotiate with your Loan Officer

Talk to your loan officer as hiding from him may result in your debts being transferred to a debt collection agency wherein your will be charged with higher interest rates and have less room for negotiation.

Make a systematic plan on how you will pay off your debts with accurate estimates on how much you will be able to pay monthly, bring proofs that you will be able to do what you say so that you can negotiate for longer repayment terms as well as a lower interest rate. Banks have to recognize the fact that it is better to recoup all their losses than to force you into bankruptcy and running wherein they will have to spend extra in filing charges and hunting you down. As long as you sincerely show that you are willing to pay off your debts and that you have the means to do so, you will always be able to negotiate for better terms.

Finally, Stick to Your Promises

Make sure that you will be able to do exactly what you have promised and that you will always be able to pay on time. This improves your credit rating as well as lets you avoid the higher interest rates you will incur should you miss out on a payment.

Using Plastic Responsibly

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Perhaps the best way to avoid the pitfalls in credit card use is to learn how to use it responsibly. Use it not as a short term solution for boredom, insecurities, instant gratification or discomfort but as a tool for taking advantage of new opportunities, enhancing safety or as some sort of insurance against emergencies.

Of course, one cannot always avoid using credit cards for small transactions like purchasing groceries or eating out; remember though to always keep the amount you spend to something that you can easily pay for in less than a month. This will minimize the hidden fees and interest charges.

By using your credit card responsibly and by paying your credit card bills on time every time, you also improve your credit score and this adds to your credibility when taking out large loans that you can use to build your house, send the kids to school, etc. in the future. As always, better credit rating means lower interest rates and bigger loans.

You can also use your credit card as a standby source of money in case of emergencies. This way, you can always be sure that you’ll have money when you need it.

Last but not the least; you can use your credit card in financing income generating opportunities which will be able to generate a higher rate of return than the 3% interest rate that you will have to pay. A simple example is taking out a 3% credit card cash advance loan to finance a small business that will be able to give you a 10% rate of return. You pay off the 3% and keep the remaining 7% as profit.

In the end, it all boils down to the numbers. Will you use the rope this plastic gives you to climb out of your financial hole and into a better place? Or will you use it to hang yourself?

	The Devil Wears Plastic

Perplexing Habits and Mysteries of the Human Body

Having sisters who have taken medical courses during college and the habit of reading books and watching discovery channel definitely have its perks - Especially if you’ve had a list of medical mysteries ever since you were just a kid. It may have taken more than 20 years but taking the time to find the explanations for these perplexing body mysteries have definitely allowed me to sleep a little bit better at night. At least now I know where these weird habits come from.

Anyway, here are some mysteries I have crossed off my list so far:

1. Sleep Paralysis:

Ever woke up from a bad dream and found out that you couldn’t move or scream? It may be as freaky as hell but scientists say that this is completely natural. After all, the brain has to disengage its direct control over your body so as to prevent it from making the movements you make in your dream. Imagine dreaming about a knife fight and finding yourself with an actual knife in your hands when you wake up? Wouldn’t you prefer temporary paralysis over that? He he. Some people’s brain doesn’t completely disengage its control over the body though. That’s why you find some people sleepwalking, mumbling in their sleep, fixing coffee, and my personal favourite, trying to climb walls (which my mother claims I did when I was a kid).

2. Post Pee Shiver:

At first I thought this only happens to men. We stand by the wall, expel our pee, then do that little shivering dance before pulling up the zipper. One time, I overheard girls talking about this same phenomenon although I’m sure their experience is a lot more personal and private than for boys. After all, girls pee inside enclosed cubicles compared to boys who line up side by side by the wall, shivering that little post pee shiver for everyone to see. Sometimes the shivering even gets so bad that pee is sprayed all over the place, he he, with adjacent guys doing that matrix like evasion dance. Anyway, my sisters say this is entirely normal (shivering not spraying) because as the body pees, body heat is lost through the warm pee that is expelled. The body then compensates by shivering.

3. Déjà vu:

One of my sisters presented an interesting theory about that déjà vu feeling we get whenever it seems like everything happening now has happened before. She says that according to some medical books, sometimes the things we see and hear gets routed to the long term memory portion of our brains where memories are stored instead of the short term memory slot. This tricks us into thinking that a particular incident has happened before. Whew! At least that’s a lot more comforting than the theory presented in Denzel Washington’s Movie “Déjà vu” where people from the future are viewing what we are doing now.

4. The Invisible Space Bubble:

Ever noticed the invisible space bubble around people you come across daily? It’s an invisible space around individuals or representative objects that for some unspoken agreement we don’t or hesitate to encroach upon. Like urine marks on animal territorial boundaries, a book on a library table, a jacket on a chair, a bag on a bus seat, all seem to scream “STAY BACK, STAY AWAY”. The space bubble around people increases or decreases too depending on the occasion, it might feel ok to rub shoulders with a total stranger when riding on a jeepney, a bus or on the MRT, but to rub shoulders with someone you don’t know in a spacious library or any other open space? I’ll bet you daggers will definitely go a flyin’. It’s like we’re all walking around with repelling magnetic charges that forces us to set the maximum possible distance between people. Of course, this doesn’t apply when we’re with someone we’re comfortable with like our friends or loved ones, in which case, our space bubbles merge, the magnetic polarities switch to attract and the combined bubbles becomes larger than the sum of the parts. This is why we give a wide berth to lovers, rowdy groups and individuals wearing the same shirts, he he. Apparently there’s a scientific study on this subject called Proxemics which states that the use of interpersonal space or distance helps individuals regulate intimacy by controlling sensory exposure.

5. The Lie-Eye Relationship:

Although I have never tested it, I saw this one in an episode in CSI where the investigators immediately knew the woman suspect was lying all because her eyes looked left before she answered a particularly difficult question. Now science says this is because when our eyes move left, we are actually accessing our right side of the brain which handles imagination (and consequently the ability to lie and fabricate stories). When we remember, our eyes should move right to access the left side of our brain which is for logic and memory. Hmmm… Did Abalos’ eyes move right or left during the ANC interview?

6. Chocolates, Scary Movies and Lust:

Question: What do chocolates, scary movies and lust have in common? Answer: PEA, not the ones in the Ipod but the phenylethylamine hormone, a hormone responsible for giving you that feeling of infatuation and that lovesick puppy look. Chocolates contain minute amounts of it, scary movies and situations induce the production of it and lust is the end product of it. So girls, should someone ask you out to watch a movie after gorging you on chocolates, BE ON YOUR GUARD. He he

7. The Smelling After Scratching Habit:

It maybe a yucky habit but admit it, you’ve probably seen a close friend do it. In fact, you yourself may be guilty of it. He he. Thinking about this particular number has gotten me so curious that I have even posted a poll in the internet about it. I also browsed around for scientific articles explaining this weird phenomenon. Apparently, this is a worldwide problem. I came across American girlfriends complaining about their boyfriends doing it in forums, found a bunch of confused white guys attempting to find the meaning behind it, and even stumbled upon a related habit “the pinch and roll” but that’s for another story. I’ve read somewhere though that our primal ancestors once used our sense of smell a lot more extensively. They used it to mark their territories, recognize kin, guard against danger, etc. In fact, another study indicated that we still use our sense of smell in to attract people as well as in choosing our partners (our nose have the ability to determine if the one we’re attracted to is a good genetic match for us and would produce healthy children). This is also the reasoning behind the Musk perfume which is basically an odor emitted by certain animals when they are in heat. So are the smelling after scratching habit, my cousin’s inclination to smell other people’s hair as well as the tendency to smell other people’s fart a leftover social programming from our primal ancestry then? I certainly think so, he he

8. Feeling Sleepy after Eating Syndrome:

This is an easy one. My sister says that after eating, most of our blood supply and thus the body’s oxygen is routed to our stomachs to help in food digestion. Consequently, this makes us feel drowsy and weak.

9. Earwax Consistency and Body Odor:

This one I saw in a MadLabs episode in discovery channel. The theory goes that the more powdery your earwax is, the less body odor you have. Conversely, the more viscous they are, the stinkier your body odor is. The MadLabs people even went ahead and did a test among Caucasian and oriental people. They found out that Orientals like the Chinese, Koreans and Japanese tend to have powdery earwax, thus less deodorant sales in these countries. Caucasians on the other hand had more viscous earwax, you know what comes next.

10. The Falling Sensation:

Have you ever felt that falling sensation just as you nod off to sleep? I’ve certainly experienced them a lot in my 7 am classes back in college to the fascination of my professors and classmates– kicking legs and all. Scientists call this the hypnagogic myoclonic twitch or “Hypnic jerk”, they say that this situation happens when our brains misinterpret the signals sent by our muscles when they start to go slack and relaxed - thinking that we are about to fall down. This is actually a remnant instinct from the time when our ancestors used to live in trees. In these occasions, the brain then tells the body to jerk itself upright while making us instantly awake and alert. This is entirely normal they say although people who suffer from sleep deprivation experience from it more. This is also said to be the third leading cause for embarrassing episodes while sleeping, the first being bed wetting followed by farting while sleeping. He he, thank God I didn’t end up farting while sleeping in class instead!

11. Genital Protection While Sleeping:

It’s an embarrassing topic and one most boys would probably deny when asked about it but its true. Most boys hold their genitals while sleeping. WHY?? I scoured the web for an explanation but apparently most of the people in the internet find it an embarrassing topic too. I got some interesting tidbits of info though. Apparently, celibate monks during the middle ages used to sleep with their hands over their genitals holding a crucifix to keep away the incubus or sex demons that brings about impure dreams (wet dreams in modern science). Also, instead of putting ones hand over a bible while swearing to tell the truth in a court of law, Romans in ancient times put their hands over their genitals. The psychology of the human mind however provided some light on this topic. Apparently, this behaviour is more common to boys who have experienced being teased about their penises while they were young. The posture then becomes an unconscious automatic reflex to protect this body part while sleeping. Hmmm, there must be lots of boys teased about this when they were young then.

12. Hiccups:
One of the mysteries of the body that has stumped countless scientists for hundreds of years. After all, hiccups do not seem to have a discernible purpose in the overall blueprint of our body. One theory states that hiccupping is a way to strengthen the lung muscles of babies still in the womb. Another theory states that it’s a reflex action used by the body to keep out the amniotic fluid from the lungs. A more interesting theory however states that hiccupping is an instinct retained from our sea based ancestors from 370 million years ago. After all, hiccupping, or the sudden closure of the windpipe using the glottis just as we are about to breathe is very similar to how these animals shut off their glottis when breathing in oxygen through the gills instead of their lungs.

Well, so much for that. At least now I can finally shelve these thoughts in the backroom of my brain and concentrate on finishing my work. He he

	Perplexing Habits and Mysteries of the Human Body

The Weird Pinoy

And we all thought our lolas and lolos were weird enough what with their “tabi apos”, “no bath days during menstruations”, “pagkain para sa kaluluwa”, “walis tingting anti aswang weapons” and many others.

But if you stop and think about it, we, the new generation, have developed our own set of weird habits guaranteed to elicit some sneers and laughs from our future children. Worse yet is the fact that we are not even aware of them, he he.

Here are some examples:

1. Kain na: Perhaps the most hypocritical of them all is our automatic inclination to say “kain na” to someone who just happens to be around whenever we get ready to eat. It’s almost like we are guilty of being caught eating! He he. The funny thing about this weird habit is the unspoken rule that the one being asked should decline the offer or at least take just a little bite to show appreciation. Should you dig in full heartedly, the amount you eat will usually be directly proportional to the amount of resentment you’ll generate. Sometimes I even think that this phrase “kain na” is a unique Filipino way of discerning your “kapal ng mukha”. He he

2. Asking for the Bill; Pinoys also have a weird way of asking for the bill. We make this little square rectangle in the air using our thumbs and forefinger. Sometimes we use our two hands and sometimes we use only one (the square rectangle would end up with one side missing, he he). It’s almost like a secret code wherein the waiter would reply by giving you as many coins as possible for your change (to remind you of the tip perhaps).

3. Excuse Me: Ever noticed how we say excuse me whenever we pass between two people having a conversation? No it isn’t how we say the words but how we contort our bodies to bring home the point. First, we turn sideways to present the smallest profile. Then we crouch a bit as if to avoid being seen as we pass through, we then raise the arm that is in front using it like a knife to cut through the people. We end up looking like a chicken with one wing raised and stepping sideways.

4. Jeepney Terminals: the jeepney stops at the final terminal and obviously all the people still inside will have to get off at that point. So there are two rows of people and only one exit. The most sensible thing is to wait for the person nearest the exit to get out and so on until the person right behind the jeepney driver gets his chance. All in all, this would take at most 30 seconds. What happens though is that everyone stands up and heads for the exit, yes even the one behind the jeepney driver. This creates a royal rumble like scenario wherein everyone is jostling for the right to get off first. I wonder, is 30 seconds that important to these people? Are they going to lose a lot of money if they don’t get off immediately?

5. Calling a Taxi with PPssssstt! Ehe he, a person is waiting for a taxi, the driver’s window is closed. The passenger to be is waving her arms but the driver doesn’t notice. The passenger to be then goes pssstt pssssttt!! As if this would increase her chances of being seen. If this is the case, then taxi drivers should install a psst detector outside their windows.

6. Using Puckered Lips To Point The Way: “Manong gaano po kalayo ang CR?” look closely and you will see his lips begin to pucker up. Maybe we should all start bringing pocket callipers too as it seems that the length of the lips’ protrusion is directly proportional to the distance to your destination. Let’s call it our own unique metric system of distance measurement. He he

7. The Last Piece: What is it with the last piece of food on the plate? Everyone is casting discreet glances at it but no one wants to get it. I sometimes wonder if the waiters in the place collect enough left over pizzas to complete one whole set. Imagine how you would feel if you are that last piece in the plate. He he

8. The Fart Curiosity: “Baho!!” the person nearest the culprit in the group exclaims. Now observe closely how many actually runs away to a safe distance where it is “utot free” and how many stays behind to satisfy their morbid curiosity on how bad the fart smells. Observe how some of these people are even breathing deeply with nostrils flaring to catch the faintest trace of smell. He he he, is this a remnant of our once primal ancestry where our ancestors smell each others butts for identification?

9. Cell Check Mechanism: The next time you walk into a mall or anywhere crowded, take the time to observe the people’s hands (particularly the pinoy’s hands). Take out a stopwatch too. Scientists say that men think about sex once every 27 seconds. I have a new theory, pinoys check for the presence of their cellphones once every five minutes. You’ll see the hands discreetly caressing the front right pocket as if checking to see if their cellphones have been snatched in the last 5 minutes. Hell, watch closely and you’ll notice that people do this even when they have not brought along their cellphones! Going pale every 5 minutes whenever they fail to feel that particular bulge in their pockets, he he

10. Smiles Everywhere: We pinoys smile too much we sometimes look stupid, he he. Check the local newspapers, you’ll see pinoys smiling everywhere. In funeral pictures, during demonstrations and rallies, pictures of accidents, even amidst all the rubble after being hit by the worst typhoon. Hell, its been years since hurricane Katrina devastated the US east coast but looking at the international news and the all the crying people, you’ll think it happened a few days ago. We even smile a lot in our text messages. "Hi, matagal pa ba u?:)" or "Hi, naiinis na me.:)"

Our weirdness doesn’t even end here. There are lots more that I haven’t recalled yet (feel free to add your take). These and all the other little things however are exactly the things that we miss should we find ourselves in a different country. Like a pet that pees in joy whenever you come home after a long day’s work, like the bus conductor who doesn't exactly lie when he waves at you to get in saying "marami pang upuan!!", like the unique way of laughing of a loved one and like the warmth, the smell, the lumps and bumps of our own beds that we think about when sleeping on an unfamiliar bed, these are the little things that make up our concept of a home and a country. The Philippines may indeed be a shitty hellhole but home is still where the heart is, where only a few dig in with fervor whenever you say “O Kain na!” he he.

	The Weird Pinoy

How Long is Your Ring Finger

Perhaps of all the fingers in our hand, the ring finger is the only one with a sentimental connotation. Mushy people say that the ring finger contains a vein that leads right to the heart, thus the wedding ring signifying love and eternity is placed there. Now I don’t know if this is true, but one thing I know is that according to Michael Moore’s latest documentary Sicko, should you slice off your ring finger, it would cost at least $12,000 to reconnect it for aesthetic and sentimental reasons. That’s almost half a million pesos here in our side of the globe.

The ring finger though hides a secret beyond the romantic. The usual length of the ring finger is said to be 2% longer than that of the pointer finger. One little known and surprising fact about the ring finger however is the fact that its length is directly proportional to how aggressive you are, what you’re interests are, how horny you are and basically all the things that are connected to having a high level of testosterone. This is because some scientists claim that the length of our ring finger is a manifestation of the amount of testosterone our bodies were introduced to when we were just in the wombs of our mothers.

Now, the same scientists are saying that this condition (longer ring fingers) usually occurs in boys (and thus accounts for the fact that most boys go for head bashing, rough sports, war games and the likes for pastimes). . Girls, on the other hand, have ring fingers that are more or less equal in length to the pointer, thus less testosterone and a lot more affinity towards gossiping, cooking and shopping. This doesn’t mean that girls are exempt though. Some girls actually have longer ring fingers than the pointer. So if you’re a girl and you’ve always wondered why guns, sex and rough sports interests you more than Barbie dolls, roses and dresses, you don’t have to look very far or do extensive soul searching for the answer. Just check the length of your ring finger.

And the next time you’re in a bar, you can look for something more than the wedding ring or its mark when checking out your prospect’s ring finger.:)

	How Long is Your Ring Finger

Life in a Box

Take a good look around you. I’ll bet you that most of everything you see either came from a box, or IS in a box. In my case, as I sit here typing this blog, I see my PC (which came from a box), using an external keyboard (also from a box), drinking the remaining Coke from a 1.5L bottle (six bottles in every Coke box). Off to the far side of the room are the shoe racks (were in a box when I bought them), shoes (some of which are still in their boxes), an electric fan (came with a box), etc, etc, etc…

The grocery store is full of products that are in boxes too, even those that don’t need to be in a box. Take milk for example, they could’ve done away with the box and could’ve printed on the foil instead but no.. they had to put them in a box. Some are in cans, you might argue. Then again, how do they transport these cans?

Yup! In boxes!

Truth is, there exists an unbreakable bond between people and boxes. We can’t get enough of them! We use them to maximize storage capacity, we use them to optimize filing and organization, we use them to protect fragile items, and sometimes, we just love to collect them and use them as repositories of tidbits and doodads.

We love boxes so much that we even oftentimes use imaginary ones to file, organize, and categorize the people we come in contact in our everyday lives. Take the skinny kid with the glasses way back in grade school for example – box label: NERD. What about the guy with the soft voice and sweet smelling perfume – box label: HOMO. I had my own box when I was in high school. Back then, the box said “intelligent but lazy”. When I got to college, the box became “just lazy”.

Sometimes we struggle to free ourselves from the boxes society has given us in turn. Sometimes the change just come naturally – like the laid-back funny friend in high school who became one of the most effective leaders in college, the childish schoolmate who became one of the newest officers of the Philippine army, the shy foreign guy who found his voice and subsequently the love of his life or the brod who found his success despite all the drawbacks in his life. I once struggled to free myself from the “class clown” box that I found myself in, only to realize later that I was quite comfortable in it.

Sometimes, the boxes shape our lives without us even becoming aware of it. Like the girl who graduated summa cum laude because everyone believed in her, the guy who became a bum because everyone expected nothing more, the rich guy who just had to marry someone from his own social class, or the gay who just had to have some man-boobs because girls have it (most of them anyway). Point of this is the fact that sometimes this is a good thing, sometimes not. Sometimes we end up feeling frustrated and dissatisfied with ourselves all because we weren’t able to live up to the box other people gave us. It’s like being boxed as a microwave oven and ending up a toaster.

Sometimes we forget that there are people inside all these boxes. Persons capable of shedding them, capable of choosing their own boxes, or simply capable of change. Convicts are not all bad, priests are not always perfect, blonds are not always dumb, politicians are not always corrupt and believe it or not, I bet there are still some guys who are not out for sex. It’s not the box but what’s in it that really matters.

Don’t get too fixated by the boxes you see all around you or the box you find yourself in. Hey, sooner or later, all of us are going to be in one anyways, one that’s six feet under. He he he

	Life in a Box

Rodent Skywalker

He looks down on me as I sit by the table to fix my daily coffee. Sometimes he bares his ass as if to mock my helplessness, sometimes he just sleeps there as if he owns the place. I think He knows I won’t dare shoot him with the airgun.

I call him Rodent Skywalker. The very first rodent in our house that dared to conquer the skies (or at least the transparent plastic water drainage system we have fixed on our ceilings as storm back-up). As a result, all of us are treated with a daily glimpse of the hidden world of rodent life, its almost like watching a boring national geographic special where all the animal does is sleep and scratch itself.

Rats, one of nature’s most tenacious survivors. They, or at least ancestors that looked much like them, have been around so long that they've even seen the fall of the dinosaurs. They have endured through the post impact winter that followed the mass extinction, have survived the new breed of predators that followed, adapted to the dangers of modern society and according to Stephen Baxter, will probably outlast us in the future.

Now he fixes his bed near the light bulb to draw warmth and to protect himself from the 22 degree cold. He has even collected wood chips, paper and other things to make himself more comfortable in his newly discovered home.

In a sense, he is a pioneer trekking through un-chartered landscapes pushing the boundaries of his known world. Away from the mainstream of his overcrowded society , scared at every turn, wishing for security but longing for something more, he is giving his little experiment the best he can in order to find a new way to survive. He looks lonely, but aren’t all visionaries the same? It’s after all, a small price he has to pay for following his dreams.

Who knows, maybe in time, he’ll even get lucky and convince another adventurous she-rodent to share this new world with him and build a family. In time, he might even become a legend in his own pack as the one who first to venture forth and conquered the sky.

Rodent Skywalker. My finger itches to pull the trigger but something holds me back. Maybe it’s his pioneering spirit and how I, myself am trying to do the same in a world of bits and bytes. Maybe it’s his fears, as it is the same fears I confront everyday as I try to push our own experiment onto solid ground. Or maybe it’s his courage, as I know mine has and will waver as I follow my dreams in the years to come.

Sleep tight Rodent Skywalker. I’ll leave the lights on for you tonight.

	Rodent Skywalker