2002 MAY 23 CHOPIN LIZST, SHE WROTE ON THE PAPER

Money is everything. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Let me clarify, as I'm sure I'll get lots of arguments here: This does not include being filthy rich. When I say money is everything, I simply mean that it is having enough to live the life you wish. That's the key. If you're content living in a two-bit shack on the rural outskirts of Amarillo, Texas, so be it. As long as you're happy. But for others who find satisfaction through materialism, which I personally think is quite fine, more funds may obviously be needed.

Also, I refuse to hear the bullshit about "love." Sure, love is a many spendid thing. But tell me, since when did love feed you and pay the bills? The hogwash about the emotional power of love, how it will lift people out of destitution and give them the strength to stay alive another day without food, that's all psychological politics. We're not made that way, to feel nothing when we see rich men walk the streets in their nice suits or even spoiled brats drive their new CLK down the block. Often, we feel like we deserve more, but alas, shit happens.

Personally, money gives me a sense of comfort. It's like having insurance with you in case you come upon a road block in life. Whether it should be that way or not, the truth is that money is a necessary evil that is an integral part of our society. I need it to buy food, to do my laundry, to dress nicely in case a pretty girl walks by. Something like that.

I guess it's early and I'm a bit indifferent toward life right now for some reason. I shouldn't feel this way, but I am. At the same time, I do believe I'm not being pessimistic about this money thing. Pragmatic, quite possibly. In effect, here's a quote off of Murakami's The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle to seal this off:

"Pessimistic... pessimistic..." She repeated the English to herself over and over, and then she looked up at me with a fierce glare. "I'm only sixteen," she said, "and I don't know much about the world, but I do know one thing for sure. If I'm pessimistic, then the adults in this world who are not pessimistic are a bunch of idiots."