Money Doesn't Buy Happiness

Cliche I know, but what else can I say? It is a lesson that I am learning more each day-that money isn't as big of a deal as we all make it out to be. Of course it is good for things like buying sweet road bikes, travelling, getting your filling that your dentist back home stuffed up fixed while travelling, etc, but in the grand scheme of things, it really cannot provide complete happiness. Take yesterday for example:

I was to spend Sunday morning at brunch with my employers at the job I am currently finishing up at. I have a month left, but they still treat me like someone who is going to be there longer, probably because they have to. They can't invite everyone to brunch and not me, right? So we get our schedules for the holiday program and come to find out, I have fewer hours than any of the other girls. This pisses me off a bit as I consciously turned down the holiday program at the new job I will be starting in Feb specifically because I wanted to be nice and not abandon my current employers during the busy season (holiday day care is not exactly a relaxed job). So what do I get out of it? Pretty much the shaft. And whether or not they have done this because they wanted to give the more permanent staff members more hours or because they were just trying to be assholes, it still bothered me a bit that such a kind gesture on my part was being repaid with this crap.

Then as I'm packing to move into my new place (no one likes packing even if it is only two bags, one box and a bike) I get a text from my old flatmate still demanding more money...money that I don't owe her. This is an extremely long story, but to make it short, they have given me a raw deal, I don't owe them anything in any way, shape or form, but again, because I felt a bit bad about everything, I still sent them some money when I left (mainly for the phone bill but also a bit for power and stuff). Again, unecessary stress placed on my head from these people. Maybe she should get her boyfriend to get a damn job instead of relying on me to pay his part of the rent. So this hacked me off a bit again, simply because I would rather leave this part of my life in the past.

Other things on my mind as I drive to my new flat include: the three weeks in advance I'll need to pay Nelson to move into this new place, the fact that I have to buy groceries sometime soon, my upcoming dental appoinment that I'm not sure will be covered by my insurance, the car repair bill I've yet to pay, the fact that my gas gauge is on "e" and I'm not sure if it's because the tank really is empty or because the gauge is stuffed up...the list goes on of course but keep chuggin', right?

So I get to my new place, open up the gate and there sits Craig, putting his new hand pump on his mountain bike... (after our pump-less excursion the other day...you'd think that of two bikers one of us would have brought something to pump up a tire-he decided to spring for a way to deal with flats)...and I begin to tell my tale of stressful encounters of the day. As I start to bring in my two bags, one box and my bike, the uneasy feeling of stress beings to weigh just a bit on my chest; but then he asks if I still want to go biking. And even though I would rather just curl up in the corner and hide until it all goes away, I throw on my bike shorts and we're off. Two and some hours later, after climbing some of the longest hills and seeing some of the most beautiful parts of this region, I feel like nothing can hurt me. We rode hard at the end, me nearly to exhaustion...an athlete like him, well, he probably found it to be cake. Regardless, it feels amazing to be out on my bike again, it feels extra-amazing to be out riding in New Zealand, and even more so to be out riding with him.

Money? It'll come right and I just don't care enough to let it keep me awake at night any longer. In fact the entire situation is just a bit laughable.

And as we sat there, eating last night's cold pizza, laughing about everything and nothing and wondering what will happen come September when it's supposed to be time for me to go home, everything just kind of felt perfect. Funny that it's the furthest thing from "perfect" one could imagine, but isn't that kind of perfection in itself? I have no idea where my life is going to take me from this moment on...but I do know that as of two weeks ago everything has changed, that I am almost certainly not coming home until my year is up in September (at the very least), and that as far as my life pursuits are concerned, the opprotunities are endless. I am happier than I have been in ages, money not included.

-NMK