.Tuesday, 16 June 2009 ' 7:16:00 pm Y
you used to be the reason, for my smile.
Hello dear friends!
Yes, it has been a long time since I have last posted. I would like to apologise, truly, especially for those readers out there who sent me emails. I had accidentally deleted the emails.. I am very truly sorry. I also haven't been receiving emails ever since then. So now, I would like to revive my blog, with a new story I very recently received, and some advice. Keep it in mind!
"Dear Bleh!,
I am *Rachel. Seeing that you have not blogged for very long, I would like to email you to kind of wake up I guess, but I don't know if you read it. I don't mind really :) I'm fifteen, and I like to watch tv dramas and am quite addicted to some of them. So I don't know what to do~ Can you help me?
Not long ago, a new drama caught my attention: Boys over Flowers! Actually many people in my class also like the show, and they have crushes on the guys in the show. Me too I guess, and that's why I have spent so much money on buying stuff about the show! I bought posters, handphone straps, notebooks and many others.. My whole wall is plastered with them!
This has happened alot before, but because of the recession my mother lost her job as a shop assistant, so my father is the sole breadwinner now. We sold our condo and moved into a HDB flat nearby.. But I still am spending as much money as before. I don't know how to control this habit! Please help me!
Love, Rachel"
Before I give you some advice, I would like to thank you for your email! Thank you, as I have not received an email for a long time.
Yes, most teens like you get into this habit. They fall into this trap. I myself, have actually fallen into this trap several times before, but I managed to crawl out with the help of my friends and family.
Firstly, plan your food. For recess, you could bring some home-made food, such as sandwiches. Bread goes well with alot of things, even some kinds of leftovers, so use this if possible so as not to waste food. Or you could just bring leftovers from last night's dinner! Then for lunch, eat in school! Eat outside less often, this will not only save costs, but keep you healthy. School food is usually more healthy than food such as KFC of McDonalds! Ask the stall aunty for more vegetables, if you have planned it as part of your spending. Health is as important as wealth!
Secondly, store your money (literally)! With your money saved from planning your food, you could save at least 1/4 of your weekly pocket money. Keep this money not in your wallet, but in a 'piggy-bank' or even a bank account. This will prevent you from being tempted to spend when you have money in your wallet, and if you put the money in a bank account you will even receive interest.
Thirdly, keep a notebook on things you want and need to buy. Prioritise, as now with the financial crisis, we need to really keep track of where we are channelling our money into. List down the items, the price, whether it is for school or for yourself, and the deadline (if there is). Then focus on saving money for the items that are
needed, before buying the items you
want. Keep a steady and fairly large amount in your bank account or piggy-bank, so that if you urgently need to use some money, you have this sum of money to fall back on, and do not to burden your father for emergency money.
Also note that all this merchandise should not be bought immediately when it comes out on the store shelves! The prices will definitely be slashed after you wait for some time, so it is better buying later than now.
Remember, that money isn't the only thing in life. And neither is celebrity merchandise. Friendship and family is important, so do remember to still celebrate each others' birthdays so as to cheer each other up during this recession! Of course, you can use these methods to cut down on the costs. It's the thought that counts. :) Do keep me informed if you wish, on your spending. I can still give you more advice in emails instead of on the blog.
Dear readers, do keep the emails coming!
.Sunday, 16 September 2007 ' 12:09:00 pm Y
you used to be the reason, for my smile.
Hi guys! Here's another one of the stories I received, this time is about a friend of the sender:
"Dear Bleh!,
This is a most irritating and problematic part of my life. There is about to be a major exam for me and my friends soon later this year. But I cannot concentrate, and my parents are really concerned. It's because of an idiotic friend called *Tessa.
She wasn't such a sickening girl a few years back, last time she was such a nice girl. She was quite shy, and didn't have a lot of friends. She didn't want to attract a lot of unneeded attention. Now she has too much attention.
Well actually, a lot of boys' attraction. In my class, the boys are mostly attracted to the beauty of a girl, so she started trying out wearing shorter skirts. It made her look quite ugly (well, in my opinion, at least), combing her hair back all the time. The other time I ruffled her hair for fun she screamed at me and hurriedly started to comb back her hair. She even keeps a foldable stylish comb in her bag. I don't bring a comb to school and even if I do, I won't be so fussy about my hair.
*Tessa did start to attract boys' attention, she wanted it very much, flirting with all the boys in class. It bugged me alot, especially since in class the boys are scattered everywhere. If they sit near me, she would always, underline
ALWAYS , visit me, posing everywhere. Unfortunately, her main target was not that impressed.
Then she took on another side of it: to make the boys pity her. She is quite dumb, considering she is a Christian. She used a cane and whacked herself repeatedly, according to my other friend *Wendy. *Tessa had told *Wendy that she had whacked herself alot of times and warned her not to tell me. But *Wendy told me, unfortunately. She fell into her trap, thinking that *Tessa only told her. I knew she had whacked herself so that she would have bruises everywhere. This would trap her soft-hearted main target. It did. In fact, I later found out, that she had boasted about whacking herself to nearly all the cool boys in class. Including her main target, and that was the main cause of it. She said she was going to commit suicide. Then he was trapped again and smsed her. She was so excited about it that she kept on dolling up like a "sad" girl. She is actually quite a rich girl and is the apple of her parents' eyes. That's why she always gets what she wants.
ALWAYS.*Penny"
Well *Penny, I suggest that you keep quiet about it. Don't tell your classmates your suspicions, but maybe you could write letters to a pen pal about it.
You could also ask the teacher to change your seats and you could sit somewhere further from the boys. If the teacher asks you why, you could tell her the whole story. The teacher might want to talk to *Tessa about it, so you should tell her not to say who had told her about the incidents.
Also, do not criticise people using words like "idiotic" and "sickening". It's quite rude, owing to the fact that you might not really know the whole story. You should not criticise about her grumbling when you touch her hair-some people are very meticulous, they want to be neat and tidy. Even if it is for someone else.
You should ignore *Tessa from now on. She might have other reasons for doing this, such as wanting to disrupt the class from being so attentive during lessons, thus causing them to do very badly during the major exam. IGNORE HER. Ignore whatever she does to attract attention. Focus on your studies. After the examination, you could talk to her about it. If she denies it, just say it's okay. If she keeps on asking you why you asked her so many questions, wave it off. Tell a pen pal about it again, or tell an adult. You could also call some helplines if you are from Singapore. I will add them to my blog, so you can just copy the numbers down and call!
All the best for your examination!
.Sunday, 19 August 2007 ' 9:47:00 pm Y
you used to be the reason, for my smile.
Well, it's been a long time since i have wrote, or is it, written? But anyway. "Sad Girl" has sent in her story:
"Hi Bleh,
I'm a very sad girl. Since I was young, I had no friends. This is because I have a birth mark that covers a bit of my face. What's worse, my father is a taxi driver and my mum is a house-wife. Our monthly income is about $2000+. And I don't have internet connection at home, so I'm typing this in my cousin's house, finally. I earned this private computer time by ploughing through endless piles of tuition homework, which is what my parents spend most of their income on.
I just became a Christian not long ago. Some things are still the same, some are not. I now have friends. They don't laugh at my birth mark like other people do. They are the ones I trust and I will stick with them through thick and thin. My teachers are also proud at my improvement in schoolwork. But the only problem is: my parents and sister are not Christians, so I think you will understand. Complaints and grouchiness, everyday I face that when I get home. I hope you guys will pray that my family will believe in Christ. ^_^
Sad Girl"
Yup, "Sad Girl" most certainly made a point there. Actually I know a few people whose parents are taxi-drivers, they get on most perfectly with life. She hopes that you people out there will pray for her family, and I do hope you will.
"Sad Girl", it's okay. Having a birth mark is perfectly NORMAL. In fact, I have one myself, but I won't tell you where! :) You should face your problems head-on, and not avoid them. And by the way, normal people will choose friends which are GOOD-NATURED and KIND. If you have these two qualities, I am certain you will be able to get friends easily. Be happy as well! I know another person who is always sad and dull. Many people don't like her, but I do. She's actually a really nice person, always helping others out. People don't notice, of course. And because she's always so negative and stuff. If she wasn't like that, she'd be the most perfect bachelorette in school or whatever it's called. So smile! Knock that frown out, start afresh!
.Saturday, 4 August 2007 ' 3:19:00 pm Y
you used to be the reason, for my smile.
hi for the second time today! XD heres a story someone sent in:
"To Bleh!
I am *Tammy and here's my story.
Long ago, I was born to a family whose parents were drug addicts. Everyday without fail, they would come and smoke some pipes or stick drugs under their noses. When they had no money, my mum and dad would run away and leave my brother and I helpless in the house. Occasionally they came back to take some stuff away. They didn't even bother about us. Because of that, my brother and I had little education and I could not write a single letter until about 10 years ago. Thankfully our grandparents found out about our parents and they brought us to their house around 14 years ago. Also, our parents slowly stopped taking drugs but unfortunately used alcohol to overcome it. So now they're alcoholics. I don't know when they're gonna stop but I hope they will stop soon.
Stressed out,
*Tammy"
Are your parents living with you now, Tammy? Because if they are, you can suggest other things they can do instead of just taking alcohol everyday. Maybe go running or jogging or swimming. Something to relax, I'm sure you have read all this somewhere. If they are already quite old, you can suggest they drink water or some drinks like tea or coffee.
They can also make a list of why they want to stop drinking, e.g. because they get constant headaches etc. Also, if they have friends who influence them with alcohol and even drugs, tell them to stop their friendship and make some new friends instead.
. ' 1:01:00 pm Y
you used to be the reason, for my smile.
hi!
well anyway this isnt the FIRST blog i have made. actually i made this blog with a purpose: to share people's woes with everyone. i hope you guys comment. and btw, i wont be using real names. and i will keep it a secret! :D
i hope that by sharing people's anger and frustration with everyone, the person himself/herself will have less stress. i hope people will start pouring in their stories! just email them to:
angels_are_friends@yahoo.com . Your name and age is optional, but you might wanna think about writing your gender. Coz i dont want to get the gender mixed up... hehe. I think some stories are coming in already... i might type one tonight.
I hope you guys dont mind me doing this bloggie and i hope that you will all pray for one another! :D
