about a decade ago...


Mismanaged growth

Aside from youngblood, a column dedicated to twenty something to freely express our ideas, view and opinion, there is one thing that practically unites most of us, a common ground that we’ll definitely find a common field of experience- the aftermath of credit cards- of most of my twenty something friends, including me, not without less than twenty something balance account to pay to major credit card financing bank.

The boom of credit cards proliferating the city started at a time when most of the playmates were on their way to the top, climbing the ladder of success, the country is on the take off stage of the so-called tiger economy. My friend and I, all in our early years of twenty, were enjoying the juicy fruit of our labor – we communicate via cell phone, the pager, we would prefer to sign whenever we had to spend, hopping from one bar to another nightly, and explore the countryside every weekend, long weekends, holidays, and utilize our vacation and sick leave, to be able to travel to as far as Palawan, Sagada, Davao, Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia, and Xiamen in China.

Being young and single, and financially capable at that, there was simply no stopping me. I bought anything even the thing I didn’t necessarily need at that time, because the opportunity was right there before me. It was so impossible to resist charging every whimsical item I took notice of, when even the smallest and absurd shop in far away town would religion, my card has ceased to be hindered by any form of discrimination, has successfully jumped across any border, and talked to any kind of language.

Like most of my contemporaries, then in the council, a senator’s writer, a young diplomat, specialist in IT industry, in the multimedia, in the congress, in boob tube, and almost anywhere, we were reigning behind every powerful men and women, and institution. Very few were still known and popular, but we definitely comprise the backbone of every think tank in every sector. We’re young, and in our ideas are definitely heard and respected. we almost thought we’re invisible and indestructible.

But again we’re not. We’re big in believing ourselves, but the society that we move into is even more powerful than us. The economy crashed. And so most of us did. In politics, we became victims for trying to insist that performance and sincere dedication to our work were enough. We trusted only on our own ideals and vision and tried to forget the kind of culture that exist in the environment of palakasan. In the long (or was it still short?)run, likewise, the repetitive and redundant course of activities required by the office would swiftly bring us to boredom, thus, rather than bringing us to stagnation, some chose to readically change gear and became, what else, professional bummers.

While all these turmoil went on, pf being stripped of one’s work, heartaches at the other sides, and depression lurking on like a death threat, me and my friend had our different ways of reacting. Some just got depressed more, other swallowed the system and triumphantly won back their seats. Only one thing has remained, our credit cards. Still tucked and kept I our wallets, while other have long destroyed and trashed the plastic. But what really made us closer was the fact that we still see each other. Sometimes in the bank or in the credit cards centers, paying our monthly dues, in which, the amount never seems to get less, still twenty something.


now...

i am so thankful i am over the credit card obssession. now, me and my husband only maintain one credit card, with very low limit, and we try to pay the balance in full before the due date. :>