Rich and mighty (me?)
Augh! Today Julie wrote about the possibly impending demise (though it may yet be saved!) of a club she likes, and cited this monstrosity as a contributing factor. Go take a look!
Now seriously – how does anyone live in a place like this? As I said in my comment to her post, I would have to be a cadaver to be comfortable in a kitchen like that, and the artist's rendering of the living room makes me feel anxious, like I'm perpetually either about to miss my flight or plummet to my death. As for the views – it's never struck me so much as today, but looking out over the Manhattan skyline (I assume that's what it is) all I can think is that living in a huge city must be very much like living in the desert – vast expanses of sheer, unclimbable cliffs and hard, unhospitable terrain, with little vivid oases of life tucked in here and there and a lot going on under the surface ... Beautiful and windy and harsh up there above all those buildings, I would think.
But no, no penthouse suite for me, no thank you. I like to keep both feet more or less on the ground.
Anyway, it was funny to see that today because I was already kind of working myself up to a rant about the rich and frivolous (you should stop reading right here if you don't like my pissy, self-righteous side), in response to a piece I've been working on about someone I know who's building a 15,000 square foot replica of a certain famous house that used to be here (now destroyed), and the fund-raising party (for the organization whose board I quit last fall) featuring, among other things, views of the behemoth-in-progress and an abundant (one might even say over the top) menu of auction items including four days of luxury accommodations for six at the Burning Man Arts Festival in Black Rock City, Nevada.
That last item ... I don't know why that makes me so mad, but somehow it just freaks me out to think of anyone who would go to THIS party, also going to THAT party. Or really, not so much GOING to it, but paying someone else (via a donation) to take them there and pamper them, rather than making the arrangements themselves and actually participating in the spirit of the event, i.e., radical self-reliance and a GIFT economy (not purchase economy!).
I know, I know, I'm way too uptight about these things. But you know, I've seen the books – for six years I saw them – and I know what they bring in on an event like that, and I have to say – all these self-congratulatory people partying for a cause ... god bless them for contributing anything at all, because a lot of people who have homes here don't participate in the community at all. But I think of the houses this person already has, and I can't help thinking – what if, instead of building yet another super-ginormous tribute to his own Wealth and Taste (and ostensibly, a Cherished Legacy to the Future Citizens of This Valley), he were to take the money he's spending on this new project, and give that to the organization?
Yeah, I have issues about money! Lately I'm even more fascinated than usual by the uber-rich folks I know around here, because I've become a little obsessed about my own financial future, and in trying to figure out the best way to take care of myself when I'm old and gray (should I be lucky enough to live so long) it's occurred to me that maybe, just maybe, having an awful lot of money isn't necessarily the worst thing I could try to aim for while I'm still reasonably young and more-or-less able-bodied.
I guess I've always just felt like it was wrong to put so much energy into amassing great amounts of money, when there were so many other worthwhile things to do that were not getting done. Like it was selfish to spend time on that goal, and to spend money on things I don't really need, when I could instead be spending time helping other people.
But now I'm trying to see if it might be possible to look at it from a different perspective. If I had more money, I wouldn't necessarily have to spend it all on frivolous and extravagant purchases for myself. I could spend it on frivolous and extravagant purchases for my friends, as well. If I had more money, I would be better able to take care of myself when I'm old. I'd also be better able to help other people – friends, family, community. Like those folks on the hill do.
Somehow (I know I've already said this recently) it feels to me like right now things are trying to happen with my career. Another sign: last Thursday I got home from work and found a door-hanger on my front doorknob, announcing that Comcast is FINALLY extending their network down our road, and when I called the 800 number for details, I found out that service should be available at my house (that's broadband, baby!) within the next month or so.
Which means that the biggest obstacle to expanding my own network of clients and side-projects is soon to be no more, which means it now begins to make sense to invest in new software and equipment and business cards, and build myself a real website, and join the local professional organization, and figure out the taxes and deductions, etc. etc. – which means that this might actually be the year when I finally begin to take myself seriously as a Professional Artist and Business Owner, instead of thinking of myself as a semi-faker who never went to school for art, who sort of fell into this line of work and does a nice enough job of it, and bills it out so cheap she still gets clients anyway, every once in awhile.
Not that I expect to get rich this way, or at least, not rich enough to build a 15,000 square foot house. But I wouldn't mind getting some real curtains up in the living room one of these days.
Anyway! Tomorrow I leave for the Mesa Verde trip. I did finally get a new camera and have spent about a week learning how to use its many interesting features, so I'm hoping to have lots of nice pictures to share when I get back.
P.S. That fluff piece I wrote is publishing in a couple of weeks. Fluff or no fluff – I'm pretty happy with it. That feels good.
P.S.2. In the near future I want to write about my habit of vigorously resisting certain kinds of change, and digging in my heels whenever anything is trying to happen very fast in my life. It has been referred to by certain persons as "a tendency to not go for it," or more popularly as "driving with the emergency brake on," which sounds about right. I want to figure out what that feeling is all about, and how I can let it go. Just the fact that I'm starting to want to let it go feels like a big step in a direction I think I'm going to like!
Now seriously – how does anyone live in a place like this? As I said in my comment to her post, I would have to be a cadaver to be comfortable in a kitchen like that, and the artist's rendering of the living room makes me feel anxious, like I'm perpetually either about to miss my flight or plummet to my death. As for the views – it's never struck me so much as today, but looking out over the Manhattan skyline (I assume that's what it is) all I can think is that living in a huge city must be very much like living in the desert – vast expanses of sheer, unclimbable cliffs and hard, unhospitable terrain, with little vivid oases of life tucked in here and there and a lot going on under the surface ... Beautiful and windy and harsh up there above all those buildings, I would think.
But no, no penthouse suite for me, no thank you. I like to keep both feet more or less on the ground.
Anyway, it was funny to see that today because I was already kind of working myself up to a rant about the rich and frivolous (you should stop reading right here if you don't like my pissy, self-righteous side), in response to a piece I've been working on about someone I know who's building a 15,000 square foot replica of a certain famous house that used to be here (now destroyed), and the fund-raising party (for the organization whose board I quit last fall) featuring, among other things, views of the behemoth-in-progress and an abundant (one might even say over the top) menu of auction items including four days of luxury accommodations for six at the Burning Man Arts Festival in Black Rock City, Nevada.
That last item ... I don't know why that makes me so mad, but somehow it just freaks me out to think of anyone who would go to THIS party, also going to THAT party. Or really, not so much GOING to it, but paying someone else (via a donation) to take them there and pamper them, rather than making the arrangements themselves and actually participating in the spirit of the event, i.e., radical self-reliance and a GIFT economy (not purchase economy!).
I know, I know, I'm way too uptight about these things. But you know, I've seen the books – for six years I saw them – and I know what they bring in on an event like that, and I have to say – all these self-congratulatory people partying for a cause ... god bless them for contributing anything at all, because a lot of people who have homes here don't participate in the community at all. But I think of the houses this person already has, and I can't help thinking – what if, instead of building yet another super-ginormous tribute to his own Wealth and Taste (and ostensibly, a Cherished Legacy to the Future Citizens of This Valley), he were to take the money he's spending on this new project, and give that to the organization?
Yeah, I have issues about money! Lately I'm even more fascinated than usual by the uber-rich folks I know around here, because I've become a little obsessed about my own financial future, and in trying to figure out the best way to take care of myself when I'm old and gray (should I be lucky enough to live so long) it's occurred to me that maybe, just maybe, having an awful lot of money isn't necessarily the worst thing I could try to aim for while I'm still reasonably young and more-or-less able-bodied.
I guess I've always just felt like it was wrong to put so much energy into amassing great amounts of money, when there were so many other worthwhile things to do that were not getting done. Like it was selfish to spend time on that goal, and to spend money on things I don't really need, when I could instead be spending time helping other people.
But now I'm trying to see if it might be possible to look at it from a different perspective. If I had more money, I wouldn't necessarily have to spend it all on frivolous and extravagant purchases for myself. I could spend it on frivolous and extravagant purchases for my friends, as well. If I had more money, I would be better able to take care of myself when I'm old. I'd also be better able to help other people – friends, family, community. Like those folks on the hill do.
Somehow (I know I've already said this recently) it feels to me like right now things are trying to happen with my career. Another sign: last Thursday I got home from work and found a door-hanger on my front doorknob, announcing that Comcast is FINALLY extending their network down our road, and when I called the 800 number for details, I found out that service should be available at my house (that's broadband, baby!) within the next month or so.
Which means that the biggest obstacle to expanding my own network of clients and side-projects is soon to be no more, which means it now begins to make sense to invest in new software and equipment and business cards, and build myself a real website, and join the local professional organization, and figure out the taxes and deductions, etc. etc. – which means that this might actually be the year when I finally begin to take myself seriously as a Professional Artist and Business Owner, instead of thinking of myself as a semi-faker who never went to school for art, who sort of fell into this line of work and does a nice enough job of it, and bills it out so cheap she still gets clients anyway, every once in awhile.
Not that I expect to get rich this way, or at least, not rich enough to build a 15,000 square foot house. But I wouldn't mind getting some real curtains up in the living room one of these days.
Anyway! Tomorrow I leave for the Mesa Verde trip. I did finally get a new camera and have spent about a week learning how to use its many interesting features, so I'm hoping to have lots of nice pictures to share when I get back.
P.S. That fluff piece I wrote is publishing in a couple of weeks. Fluff or no fluff – I'm pretty happy with it. That feels good.
P.S.2. In the near future I want to write about my habit of vigorously resisting certain kinds of change, and digging in my heels whenever anything is trying to happen very fast in my life. It has been referred to by certain persons as "a tendency to not go for it," or more popularly as "driving with the emergency brake on," which sounds about right. I want to figure out what that feeling is all about, and how I can let it go. Just the fact that I'm starting to want to let it go feels like a big step in a direction I think I'm going to like!
4 Comments:
I have weird issues with money, too. I really can't get away (no matter how hard I try) from the idea that it is somehow wrong to have a or want to have a lot of money. I guess cuz it seems that so many people who have a lot of money just go ahead and spend it on an enormous shite load of crap they don't need. It really yanks my chain when someone builds a huge home for themselves, gobbling up precious wilderness areas and using far more resources than they should be entitled to and contributing to global warming with all the extra heating and cooling required by such a large building.
And you thought you had issues with money and rich people!!!
I also agree that it's ludicrous that a luxury vacation to Burning Man (of all things) is available. Why does everything have to be turned into a commodity!
Anyway, all that aside it is foolish to think that one can get along without making a certain amt. of money--esp. women. I read this incredibly scary statistic a while back about how a large percentage of retired women live below the poverty level. That more than anything has motivated me to always keep my eye on the bottom line when deciding whether or not to take on an assignment.
Oh brother. You're one of the most creative artists I've even known - and I've worked with a lot of web designers and creative types at many agencies over the years. Give yourself some credit here. You didn't need no stinkin art school because you've got art is your soul. I say go for it with your own business. It won't take much to get things running and I'm sure you could be a smashing success if you just give it a try.
Believe in yourself baby!!
I love this post Tina!
Every word rings true with me as well.
"...four days of luxury accommodations for six at the Burning Man Arts Festival" Is there even such a THING (as 'luxury' accommodations there)? Talk about missing the whole point of Burning Man... I'm with you on the money thing. I'm not averse to having it, but I care so little about possessing THINGS. I'd want it more for the power to do good (as corny as that sounds). Although a decent pair of shoes might be nice, too... ;)
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