concrete acquisition

as a man, i work hard to put food on the table
i keep working that job so my income is stable
trying as hard as i think i am able.



the income which comes, comes from the job
if i don't have income, do i beg or rob?
no more the moolah to with my friends hobnob;
i seek to return home, in drunken solace to sob.



but 'tis not a drunken stupor that i seek;
nor a horror like amityville, that tale so bleak;
this i say! you scoffing putrid scoundrel pipsqueaks:
i shall be my own man, and myself be made complete.


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These days things never seem easy, straightforward, nor simple. (There's a difference between simple and easy, ya know?) Much more so when your peers seem to be on the track where acquisition seems the order of the day. Just the other day, I was at a private "makan", where my friend mentioned to his other friend that he had just purchased his second house. There was a slight moment of silence as my friend realized that I was within earshot; "Cripes," the old monkey must have been thinking, "He heard that?" Turning to me in an affable manner, he said, "Oh, by the way? I just purchased my second house. Tell no one, ok?" And I was left feeling quite flabbergasted. My age and owning his second home! Mary, Mary. Quite contrary! I thought only those who went into business for themselves would have such fortune. But here was a friend who was working in some firm (management position, no doubt; have no mirages to misguide you; he's in a power position) and pouring his money into acquiring properties.

Hence, my own piqued interest in the matter; the intrigue generated in my mind must have caused my own cobweb-encrusted brain to spin faster than a hydrofoil's engine; plug in a lightbulb to my ear at that precise moment and it would, I very earnestly tell you this, have lit up for a good five minutes. Like a scene out of "trainspotting" (that marvellous gritty movie starring drugs and junkies), the world seemed to halt for a strange moment, and the dizzying whirl of realizing that, "Gee! What have I been doing with my life!" suddenly settling in; others have been making hay while the sun shines and here I am, wasting my monthly income on consumerism. Doubtless to say, the unholy trinity of personal greed, mass media advertising and sales psychology were at work here.

It seems a good time as ever to start learning the rudiments; the question is where do I start. Money must be channeled into a good, gracious cause; therefore the evil that seeks to befall me is that of seducing consumerism. How now to stave off the pangs of spending? And pour that hard earned income to a concrete reality? (Buildings are made of concrete, no?)

The logic that my friend (who by that moment had, in my eyes, elevated to genius status) used was, the property would in 4 or 5 years have appreciated, and in due course, could be sold off for a profit; after which, the next property could be purchased, and the constant cycle, of purchasing and selling, could continue. In due course he would own many properties, constantly selling and buying good deals. I look forward only to the next economic downturn, when people will have to get rid of their homes. Gosh! Does that seem an eternity away? But my incomes will need an eternity to raise to that level, too.