Gimme Gimme Gimmee

Times are tough, economy downturn, victim of downsizing, yada yada yada.  We've heard it all before, and some are living it.  Unless you are the very fortunate, we've all had those moments of wanting something, hell, even needing something, and having to say "I can't afford it."

Well STOP THE PRESSES and fret no more!!! 

Now, when faced with those pesky troubles called LIFE, you can just create a donation page and expect the world to solve your problems!

I ran across this site called GoFundMe, and it's filled with user-created donation requests.  There are plenty of really great causes going on throughout the site, and plenty of stories that could bring a tear to your eye and tug at your heartstrings more than any Sarah McLachlan animal adoption commercial.  (Sometimes I think I got rid of cable just so I wouldn't have to see that commercial anymore)

But, ladies and gents, this blog post is not dedicated to the tens of thousands of worthy causes out there.  This isn't about the dreams and hopes of people with terminal illnesses, or financially encouraging underprivileged families to attain that wish for summer camp.  No, what this is about, is the ENTITLED gimme gimme gimme pages.  The more I saw, the more I scrolled through.  It was like getting sucked into a really bad reality show that you can't seem to stop watching, even though you find your brain cells dying off the further you go.  (Yet another reason I got rid of cable)  It's such a horrendously long list of wants and "needs" that I'm actually going to make a list.  Actually, I'm going to make a list because my brain processes better that way, and I've been at work all day and I'm fried.  Yes, I was AT WORK all day.  I work, because I have wants and needs.  And my mommy and daddy told me to work for what I want.  Simple concept, but apparently, it's getting lost in the era of gimme gimme gimme.

1.  Auto repairs.  I'm a lucky gal in that not only is my hubby handy with a socket and wrench, but so is my son.  Many of my repairs or vehicle maintenance are taken care of right here at home.  However, driving a newer vehicle means there are some things that just have to be done by a pro.  Everything from glass repair, damage repair, motor issues that require computer diagnostics, hell, even new tires, and I'm taking that sucker in.  You see, I kind of knew this was one of those things expected of a car or truck owner.  You buy a vehicle, you maintain a vehicle.  And yes, they occasionally need new tires (you let me know if you ever buy a car and actually are a big enough dumbass to think those tires are going to last the life of your ownership), oil changes for the not so handy, brakes (again, that pesky regular maintenance thing) and then the more major of repairs, like when a crackhead claims he fell asleep on a bridge and rear ends you.  It's just part of OWNING a vehicle, and if you have to beg online to maintain a vehicle, you may want to consider a bicycle, because tubes don't cost much.

2.  Home repair.  Dont' even get me started.  Ok, I'm already started, so I'll dive right in.  Granted, I bought a money pit, and I was fully aware of the money pit status at the time of purchase.  The "to do" list will never end.  But even when I've owned a home that didn't carry the money pit title, I knew that THINGS GO WRONG.  Water heaters die, furnaces don't last forever, there's that pesky maintenance thing again with roofs, windows, siding.  Let alone if you want to paint and decorate specifically to your own very personal tastes.  It all takes money.  Then there's the unforeseen...the washer that dies a horrid death and spews water and soap all over, kids who never learn that paint is for canvas and redecorate all your walls in their special form of graffiti, hell, even heavy rains beyond your wildest imagination that then show you exactly why there is only a furnace in your cellar (other than the fact that it's creepy as hell and only fit for a Chupacabra)

Didn't save the furnace, but hey, those furnace filters were dry!

 

Yes, along with the extensive $30K renovations from a simple ceiling tile falling (actually, for once, I UNDERexaggerate...the whole ceiling fell), and all the other joys of homeownership, I am now on my THIRD furnace in 11 years.  Not a great track record for furnaces that last on average 20 years, huh?  But you know, four feet of water tends to do a bit of damage, and go figure, it's OUR house, so we've forked out thousands due to bad drainage, sealing, and failed sump pumps.  It's that pesky maintenance thing, and sometimes, hell MANY times, that maintenance blows, especially when you find yourself repeating it over and over again.  But that's what happens with home ownership...you buy, YOU maintain. 

3.  Jobs.  Yup, there are GoFundMe pages related to all kinds of jobs.  People want free and clear money to open their own store.  They want a job out of state, but need YOU to pay for not only their moving truck, but their rent AND deposit, food to last them until their first paycheck, AND a bicycle to get to work with.  Yes, there are even people who want you to fund their expenses to go on an interview.  You don't even HAVE the job, but are begging for money to MAYBE get the job????  Oh, and there's the ripe little home based businesses wanting money to expand.  You know, for packaging, marketing, and advertising.  Because yes, it makes perfect sense that your business expenses should be paid for by people on the internet and not the profits from the business!  Why use logic?  How can people expect you to increase your revenue without their own hard earned money?  It's not enough they're buying your shit, they should finance your business even further!

*can't find the sarcasm font*

4.  Tuition.  Hell, college IS expensive.  I'm putting one through school now, and I could rant all day every day about the costs, much of which comes out of OUR pockets.  But we're not even talking about begging for "real" college.  Seminars.  Classes where you spend three weeks of your life learning how to say kum-by-yah in ten languages and they hand you a certificate for your $2000.  That kind of thing where any person without a case of the gimme's is going to KNOW that it's a worthless piece of paper.

5.  Unrealistic dreams.  Not the kind of dream that has taken a lifetime of sacrifice and still cannot be fulfilled.  Not the wishes of a child who won't see their 10th birthday.  No.  BIG DREAMS.  Like a pool liner for your inground swimming pool.  Paying for a cruise for your 30th birthday (where you use words like "party!" and "but I'm flat broke").  Finishing the tattoo you started.  Living expenses while you write a book...yeah, actual living expenses, as in rent, utilities, and food.  Trip money for meeting celebrities.  The list goes on and on.

6.  Weddings.  Yeah, weddings.  But not just ANY wedding.  Oh no, going to the courthouse is not the wedding these people want.  They want, scratch that...they NEED their dream wedding.  Because the success of their marriage depends on it.

I'm confused.  I refuse to believe that people are THIS entitled.  Hell, at least the people standing at the intersections holding up a sign are actually openly begging, and not writing up some flowery creative bullshit in an attempt to actually make you believe that they shouldn't have to work for these things.  Work.  Job.  GET A JOB.  Get TWO jobs.  Really, I don't care if you're selling your plasma, canning beets and whoring them out as organic at your farmers markets, AND working an 80 hour week job.  But pay for your own shit.  Truly, it IS the American way.  Work hard, see returns.  NOT take 30 seconds and fill in the blanks and beg.  It may be a free will donation site, but let's call it what it is...it's shameless begging, because something in your warped little brain seems to tell you that these are things that should be given to you, and not earned.

Gimme gimme gimme.

Tsk tsk tsk.