The “Pay Attention to Me!” Challenge
October 26, 2006 by kate baggott
Filed under Finances, Mental Health
I think about money a lot more now that I work outside the home. Time is money and I don’t think I am being paid properly for my time. Then again, I felt the same way when I earned three times as much.
Today, while on my coffee break at work, I saw a picture of a pen that cost 12,000 Pounds Sterling (not exactly as pictured, but a $250 pen and a $25,000 pen look alike to me). That is about $25,000 US.
Now, there are three ways to look at a picture of a $25,000-pen.
You can look at it and think, “I am so poor and inadequate. I can’t even afford a decent pen.” Which is pretty much what the marketing folks want you to think.
You can consider the image and conclude: “Rich people must be stupid, or that pen would not even exist.”
Or, you can start plotting for ways to get weathy celebrities to sign autographs with their own pens…so that you can ask to “borrow” it.
While plotting petty pen thievery, I realised that celebrities have their uses. Use them to bring traffic to my blog, I admire some of them for their efforts to promote social justice and, I appreciate that they are as capable of mistakes as the rest of us.
But, really, the whole celbrities as news thing has gotten out of hand. Especially since there are mothers everywhere who need attention. In fact, you could probably use a little attention yourself.
So, here is a challenge:
For the next week, every time you find yourself reading celebrity gossip online, in magazines, newspapers and on E! stop and do something for yourself instead. Any of my since you’re sitting there tips or anything you can think of will do. Just remind yourself that you, your energy, your life and health are important.
Much more important than any of those famous people with over-priced pens.
I love pens!!! No clue why, I just always have. I’m forever on the quest for the perfect pen. My mom laughs at me, though, because she said I only like cheap pens. I’m okay with that. I don’t think I honestly could ever buy a $25,000 pen. Not even if I had it to spend. Everytime I wrote with it, I’d think, “The money spent on this pen could have fed a village of people for 5 years.” Wouldn’t be worth it to me. Besides, I imagine I’d have to go through just as many of them to find the perfect pen anyway. I’ll stick to my quest of finding the perfect cheap pen.
I think there are perfect pens to be found for 2.50 or less.
I guess a pen like that is really jewelry. I love the cheap fountain pens that you can buy in Prisunic in Paris! In fact, I haven’t had one of those in a while.
I think we should all do a kegel whenever we hear about celebs and their offspring. Not that any of them push em out!!!
Yeah, it is amazing what you can outsource these days. The kegel it is.
Personally I would be embarrassed if I ever spent such money on a pen. Even if I had that much money. If you can’t think of anything better to do with your money, that is very sad.
Susan, I do wonder at the thought process.
“Oh, I could buy a year’s worth of art supplies for 6 public schools, or I could buy this cool pen…”
ORRRRRR, I could go read about Britney and Paris. Uh hu.
Oh, a hugely expensive pen would not tell me anything about the intelligence of those two. Everyone already knows that wealth and stupidity are linked in those cases.