Charity Work - Is It A Choice?

It is, of course, great to do charity work.  Donating both money and time are wonderful.  There is no doubt about that.  But if you do not do charity work and donate money, is that wrong?  Should you be punished or something?

I have been doing some reading of opinions on this site that I visit regularly.  One user said that people take the money they have for granted and they are careless on what they spend it on.  I believe that doing activities with friends and family are not a waste of money.  Going out for a nice dinner with a group of friends or family is perfectly fine.  People should not try to make me feel guilty for that!

I am not a terrible person.  I actually do try to help out with some charities even though I am just a college student.  But I don't think that everyone should be expected to do the same.  People have their own priorities.  There are other things that are more important to them.  I don't want them to think it's bad if they do not donate money to charity and they use it for something out.  It is your CHOICE.  It is very kind if you donate money to charity but it is a choice and it should not be forced upon you.

The generalization that I read was that everyone is becoming far too selfish and only thinking of "me, me, me".  Is this really true?

Should people not be able to make their own choices without being judged by people?

Supporting charities is great but people should be able to make their own choice about things like that!  I do not want myself or others being judged for supporting or not supporting something.  It is your own personal choice.

Why Are People Becoming So Selfish

How Do You Get Around The City?

When I moved away for college to a “big city”, I was very excited about the public transportation. I could just hop on a bus and go anywhere! I found (and still find) it exciting and convenient. It seems like if you personally are driving, you always have to know your destination, and you just don't get to be as adventurous.

So many times, I have just gone on a bus and ended up somewhere. Or tried to get home using a different route. It is just fun to explore.

You don't even have to go within the city. You can try intercity buses such as the Greyhound or the Go Bus or Train. I love knowing that I can just hop on the bus and go to Toronto or almost anywhere! I feel like public transportation gives me so much freedom.

Sometimes public transportation can be a bit irritating. It seems like it takes longer to get anywhere on Sundays. The bus that goes by my place only runs every hour on Sundays instead of every half an hour. And the bus that's a short walk from my place doesn't run at all on Sundays.

I also wish that the buses ran later. On Fridays, the bus near my place runs until midnight. I like to go out and party and it is always later than midnight. I feel that the buses would be used better if they ran until two or two thirty so that people are able to get home. Sure, taking a taxi is an option, but I definitely prefer the bus!

If you have not used your city's public transportation – I definitely suggest taking a look at it. You can usually find some information and bus schedules online. Happy bussing!

Virgin Mobile - To Sign Or Not To Sign

If anyone ever asks me advice about Virgin Mobile ever again - my advice is GET OUT!  First, they have terrible reception (I rarely get service).  Second, they have terrible customer service.  Third, they do not respond to you in the time indicated.

Let's start at the end of the list (because it can only get better from there).  I have send them many emails.  Once an email is sent, it says that they will respond in two business days.  As of right now, they are almost two weeks behind in a few messages.  They are definitely not doing what they say they are doing.  I also talked to a customer service representative on the phone a while ago.  He told me that he would have some tech people look into a problem with my phone and they'd give me a call in a few days.  Over a week and a half later and still no response.

Second was the customer service.  I am always talking to someone who leads me to someone else who can't do what I want them to do.  It's so frustrating.  Perhaps they just need to be connected together better or something.  But there should be better customer service.  I had to talk to so many people to try and get a question answered and finally the third one came up with something but I still had to talk to two others who had to talk to even more people.  And guess what - the problem still isn't solved because there was miscommunication.  With that many people, could you really guess that would happen?

The biggest problem of all - the service.  I don't get reception at my parents house, my house at college last year, when I'm moving around in my house now (going from kitchen to bedroom to living room or something), my school, etc.  I will receive texts hours later than they were sent.  I have given up making phone calls from it because I can never get through.  It is absolutely ridiculous.  My parents house is the only location where I would accept if there was not service (as it is in the middle of no where).  My school is in a city, I live in the middle of a city.  There is no reason why I should not be getting service.  There is no reason why this should be happening.

They have recently offered me some new products and a bunch of deals to keep me as a customer.  I'll probably stay for the rest of my contract but I am immediately switching to a better company after this (Rogers perhaps?).  I will keep you updated if I change my mind on Virgin Mobile (which I doubt will happen - two years or terrible service - do you think my opinion will be swayed?).

My recommendation: never get a plan with Virgin Mobile.

What Would You Do With Three Wishes?

I have given this quite a bit of thought. Three wishes, well wouldn't that be nice! Okay, I know it's not going to happen, but a girl can dream, can't she?

First, I've put some thought into how to divide these three wishes. Just as a template. I don't want them all of me. That would be selfish! Of course, I don't want them all to be for others because that's far too selfless. So here is how I decided to divide my three wishes. Wish One will be for myself. Wish Two will be for a close friend or family member (or a group of them). Wish Three will be for the world or a group, someone who I don't know. I think that is the perfect division.

I'm thinking about what else I want or need. I could ask for more money, to lose weight, for the hottest boyfriend, to be a pro athlete, so many things I could wish for! I finally came to the conclusion that my wish would be to find a career path that I truly enjoy. That's something that I'm having a tough time figuring out right now. It's hard to do alone so I could use some help. It would be nice if I could just get that over with and continue on my way, learning, and going down that career path.

Let's look at my close friends and family next. They actually have just about everything they could ever want or need. I would wish for money for my family. I would like for my dad to be able to retire. He is working mandatory Saturdays and he just doesn't have time to get out and enjoy life as much anymore. He does not want to be working Saturdays. If I could get enough money for him to retire and enough money for my sister to go go to university, my family would be quite happy. They could do more of the activities that they enjoy.

My third and final wish is for someone that I do not know. There are plenty of groups that I could aim this wish at. My choice is to wish that all children (18 years of age and younger) would have a home. A home, in this case, is defined as a shelter, at least one parent, and regular food and drink.

If you could have three wishes, what you they be? Would you follow this template? Let me hear your wishes!

Welcome, September!

It's the start of a new month.  I have mixed feelings on this.  You can take it as a new start or you can take it as the end of something great.  It often depends on how your previous month was.

My August was exciting.  I was working, in school, and enjoying time with friends and family.  It was a very busy month for me.  But there are lots of things to be excited about for September.  I am excited about starting school and moving into my new house up at college.  I'm looking forward to having freedom again (not living with my parents).  I'm also looking forward to seeing more of my friends.  I'm still not sure whether or not I'm excited about it or not.

I think the transition from August to September is one of the biggest ones.  Many people start school in September.  It's also the start of autumn and it means no more summer.  Often it is when people have to start getting serious and back to reality.

What are you looking forward to in September?