Published in the Khaleej Times.
Pradeep Sharma, Abu Dhabi (KT Reader)
18 March 2009
Last week I got a call from a friend who had just been fired from his job.
He had joined an elite class of sixty people who had been handpicked by their management to be thrown out of the organization.
Naturally, he was depressed.
The first day, according to him is the toughest, because you are trying to figure out why you had been picked by the corporate butchers to be slaughtered.
The second day is better, because you sleep better - since last night was spent tossing and turning in bed.
The third day, you want to go out and get some fresh air, and you begin to feel better, and since your mind is a whirlpool of plans you barely realize that you haven't called your parents to tell them that you had been fired.
You worry about how they would react to your joblessness.
Now imagine this friend of mine decides to call his parents on the third day and he is figuring out how best to soften the blow.
Should he tell them that he had been fired and quickly mention the fact that he was not alone and 59 others has to go?
Or should he simply lie and say that he fought with his boss and quit?
Or maybe he could just tell them the truth and become the first member in his family for generations to have been given the sack.
After much pondering he decided to tell them the truth.
And their reaction to it is surprisingly different from what he expected. It quickly dawns on him that they have been reading the newspapers too, and they are quite aware that jobs were being lost to the blaze of corporate greed.
Why some of the neighbours too had to endure the crushing news that their near and dear ones were now without jobs. They struck a rather emphatic tone and encouraged my friend to do what suited him best. They also said that they were with him and told him not to panic. It was a conversation that has helped him get over his blues.
It has been over 15 days now and my friend is not going mental searching for a new job. He has decided to take a brief sabbatical from work. He has in fact decided that he doesn't want to do any work for the next six months.
He will use all the money he has accrued in terms of gratuity to fund his travels across the length and breadth of his native country.
There are places he had always wanted to see, but hasn't been able to because of all the work. He spent 10 years hoping that things would change and he could actually live his dream.
I am happy that my friend has decided to live his dream, because it gives me the confidence that I too could ride over the crisis is something similar happened to me.
Don't get me wrong, I am not looking forward to being fired.
It's just that I know it will not be the end of the world for me. I will find reasonable employment once the world regains its sanity and decides to move ahead. It could take six months, or more, but honestly I am ready to take on life.
Showing posts with label economic recession. Show all posts
Showing posts with label economic recession. Show all posts
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Adding value in an economic recession
I have totally revolutionalized my relationship with money. I have had to. The beauty of not having a chick nor child to care for is that you get to have a lit bit more disposable income-relatively speaking.
I have always found the most decent of rather cheap lodgings available. Don't believe in working to make my landlord wealthy, or to have a posh crib for the purpose of having a posh crib. I waited until my first car broke down to buy another used vehicle that would yield a higher selling price. I paid up hefty payments on my credit cards to avoid higher interest rates.
Now, not much has changed. I live in the cheapest two bedroom apartment that was available. It's even cheaper than many one bedrooms. My car was bought used and shipped here from Japan and will yield about double buying price when sold. I no longer have credit cards. I buy only what I have cash to buy. Many things no longer make the cut.
1. I do my hair myself. From washing, to colouring, to treating to grooming, I do it all. I have dreadlocks. But having practiced my own hair care for years, I am even better than some pros. This saves me roughly $100 monthly.
2. I do my own manicures. I splurge on professional pedicures only when the ESC is around, and as you know, that's every few months. Savings $90 monthly
3.I work out at home. Forget gym membership, I bought the gym on DVD and two wheels. That's right- DVDs and a bicycle. I quit the gym long ago after I added up all the money I was giving to my Olympic personal trainer, who is good, but face it, with those fees, richer than me. I could not afford to be paying over $200 monthly just because I had no personal discipline to show up to a training session on my own.
4. I eat 95% of meals at home. I may not be Enid Donaldson, Martha Stewart or Easy Skanking Chef, but I am my own personal chef. Complete with canned and prepackaged items for those days that cooking is the last thing on my mind. My food tastes better than the crappy restaurants here anyway!In a week, it could go from canned tuna to pan seared garlic crusted salmon with a coconut sauce. Savings: $600 monthly
5. I drink at home. Of course in moderation but that $5 bottle of beer costs 3 in the off-license. And the bottle of wine/vodka is also significantly cheaper. I have been drinking less anyway.
6. I steal wireless. Yes i am a wireless thief. Wasn't always, but when communication was shot in the hurricane, and the lone telecoms company offering hi-speed internet refused to get it's infrastructure back up, you get used to going to hot spots. Now that service is being restored, I have no desire to get a bill. Why pay for what you can freely receive? I use a mac so I am not so worried about viruses. Though I should be worried about security . Maybe this wasn't such a good point.
7. I have no landline. For the same reason above. And I will not resume the plan that cost me $70 monthly without making a single call. I will make all my calls from my company sponsored SIM. If only I would get a replacement phone.
8. I dont buy clothes, bags, shoes, decorative home things. I use what I have. On an island this small, just who the hell am I going to impress with a pair of new shoes every month? Dry rot accelerates here too, so this is just not the place to be glam.
After being such a miser with the small things, here is what I will spend on:
1. Photography
2. Travel (that adds to my life experience)
3. Videography
4. Related computer, tech gadgets and software
5. Books, DVDS, CDs
They say a fool and his money are soon parted.
I have always found the most decent of rather cheap lodgings available. Don't believe in working to make my landlord wealthy, or to have a posh crib for the purpose of having a posh crib. I waited until my first car broke down to buy another used vehicle that would yield a higher selling price. I paid up hefty payments on my credit cards to avoid higher interest rates.
Now, not much has changed. I live in the cheapest two bedroom apartment that was available. It's even cheaper than many one bedrooms. My car was bought used and shipped here from Japan and will yield about double buying price when sold. I no longer have credit cards. I buy only what I have cash to buy. Many things no longer make the cut.
1. I do my hair myself. From washing, to colouring, to treating to grooming, I do it all. I have dreadlocks. But having practiced my own hair care for years, I am even better than some pros. This saves me roughly $100 monthly.
2. I do my own manicures. I splurge on professional pedicures only when the ESC is around, and as you know, that's every few months. Savings $90 monthly
3.I work out at home. Forget gym membership, I bought the gym on DVD and two wheels. That's right- DVDs and a bicycle. I quit the gym long ago after I added up all the money I was giving to my Olympic personal trainer, who is good, but face it, with those fees, richer than me. I could not afford to be paying over $200 monthly just because I had no personal discipline to show up to a training session on my own.
4. I eat 95% of meals at home. I may not be Enid Donaldson, Martha Stewart or Easy Skanking Chef, but I am my own personal chef. Complete with canned and prepackaged items for those days that cooking is the last thing on my mind. My food tastes better than the crappy restaurants here anyway!In a week, it could go from canned tuna to pan seared garlic crusted salmon with a coconut sauce. Savings: $600 monthly
5. I drink at home. Of course in moderation but that $5 bottle of beer costs 3 in the off-license. And the bottle of wine/vodka is also significantly cheaper. I have been drinking less anyway.
6. I steal wireless. Yes i am a wireless thief. Wasn't always, but when communication was shot in the hurricane, and the lone telecoms company offering hi-speed internet refused to get it's infrastructure back up, you get used to going to hot spots. Now that service is being restored, I have no desire to get a bill. Why pay for what you can freely receive? I use a mac so I am not so worried about viruses. Though I should be worried about security . Maybe this wasn't such a good point.
7. I have no landline. For the same reason above. And I will not resume the plan that cost me $70 monthly without making a single call. I will make all my calls from my company sponsored SIM. If only I would get a replacement phone.
8. I dont buy clothes, bags, shoes, decorative home things. I use what I have. On an island this small, just who the hell am I going to impress with a pair of new shoes every month? Dry rot accelerates here too, so this is just not the place to be glam.
After being such a miser with the small things, here is what I will spend on:
1. Photography
2. Travel (that adds to my life experience)
3. Videography
4. Related computer, tech gadgets and software
5. Books, DVDS, CDs
They say a fool and his money are soon parted.
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