Pros & Cons of a Roomie

Kinda difficult topic to discuss if I haven't been in this situation...
These are some pros and cons I thought about:

Pros:
-Life will be cheaper. You'll share costs of rent and utilities.
-You'll share responsibilities and chores (Dishes, vacuuming, shopping, etc.).
-You'll have company and won't be alone.
-Since you're saving money, you'll be able to afford better things.
-It's often safer to have someone to live with.

Cons:
-Lack of privacy.
-You can never trust him/her, especially if you don't know 'em that well.
-You gotta trust 'em to be on time with the rent, or maybe spot you sometimes.
-Their problems can become your problems.
-Get used to each other (Get bored of them).


Now, living with a female or male roommate can vary, due to the famous "battle of the sexes". Men and women DO think and feel differently. But still, I think it won't be that different, you'll still have the same pros and cons, just with some variations. It depends on the person, but I recommend you do it at least once in your life, to have one more experience. I bet it'll be fun to try to function with a female stranger under the same roof.



Now guess who is who! :D
(click on the image if you can't read)

If I had $10'000,000 Dollars...

This is a difficult question, don't you think? I've been thinking this from time to time all day, and finally came with some ideas...

I would like to help out my family if there was any debt to pay, buy them a great present as a thank-you for all the things they've done to raise me as I am.

I would like also to buy a nice apartment in downtown, let’s make it the Penthouse, nicely furnish it, and buy the very best audio and video system, have a great kitchen, and buy nice clothes. I would also buy myself a sporty and elegant car such as a Jaguar or an Audi.

I would like to invest a good amount of money to secure my future and keep living properly, probably invest it in several small companies and make them grow.

I would probably donate part of my money each year to a non-profitable charity.

I would find myself the love of my life, marry her, and have 3 lovely kids. Raise them, feed them, educate them, and teach them to live. Give my best as a parent and as a husband. Give my wife the kind of life she deserves, the best. Pay my children’s school bills, hospital bills when needed, and great universities.

And I would absolutely love to buy a nice property on the beach, and start building an awesome beach-house; nail by nail. And make it my last home. Write a book.

Spend the rest of my days squeezing the best of life.

:D

Homelessness: Vancouver's mayor-elect.

From Tuesday's Globe and Mail

December 2, 2008 at 5:39 AM EST

Housing Minister Rich Coleman and Vancouver's new mayor-elect had a two-hour meeting this weekend in which they agreed they are willing to make extraordinary efforts to reduce homelessness significantly this year.
In the two weeks since their municipal election victory, they have identified an immediate need for 700 to 1,000 new shelter beds.
"I'm really hopeful that we can get hundreds of beds available really quickly," Mr. Robertson said after his meeting with the minister.
Both parties said no details had been worked out but that, in general, if Vancouver can come up with buildings and other resources such as money for minor renovations, the province is willing and able to provide the funds needed for operations and support.

Well, I support the idea that homelessness is one of the biggest problems in the actual Vancouver. Day a day, the number of homless people increases, but I think the government has the power and the will to fix this problem, at least I would like to believe that.
Being long enough in the beautiful city of Vancouver, I have noticed that this is pretty much their only "big" problem, everything else seems to be in control, leaving the homeless as the only "ugly" thing in such beautiful city.
So that's why I support to make the city better, giving these people a better oportunity and quality of life and little by little eliminating this problem.

Courageous or Scared?

Ok, this is a real story I experienced. Some say I acted scared, other say I acted bravely and intelligently. Let's see what you think.

Me and my friends were “celebrating” Independence Day back in Mexico. We went to a friend’s house up in a hill, an abandoned house. We had a great time drinking, talking and chilling; waiting for the fireworks to start. A few minutes after midnight, everything was coming to its end, we were getting tired, cold, and for some there was no more to drink; fireworks ended.
After half an hour we decided to move to other place, to another friend’s house, back in the city. I was driving my car, that’s why I had nothing to drink… yeah right, just a couple beers, no biggie. So after a while we got there and kept partying. I was very tired and in no mood to party. So I decided to go to sleep to my house and not there, nothing is better than your own bed, right?
So, I was driving back home, It was around 2 o’clock in the morning, and streets were quite empty and I was really sober by that moment, but were the people driving their cars were sober? You never know, maybe drugged too.
A couple miles from my home in front of me I noticed this car driving very strange, I had this bad feeling about him, so decided just to run past him and leave him in my back and just keep going home. The other car, which was pretty full didn’t let me through, so I was like what’s wrong with this guy, and tried again and again, and he kept throwing his car towards me. I took this kind of personally and threw him my high beams and really forced my car to pass by him, and I did. This is where all started… Now it became like a steet race, he started to try run past me, but actually trying to crash my car, he was pretty violent. I was starting to feel scared and in danger. I was dodging him and finally stopped my car, thinking he would keep his own way but I was wrong. He stopped too. He was looking for a fight!



Story incomplete. In process...

The most important things a child should be tought about manners

Education is the most important thing a child should be tought, and there are thousands of good manners they should learn. They need this to succeed and to be distinguished. Everybody likes a well-educated child, or even man. Thats why I'm listing some ideas.

1. Waiting their turn and not interrupting other people when they are speaking. Gently tell them to wait until someone is done speaking, and then ask their question.
2. No name calling. Even if it's in "fun", name calling hurts.
3. Always greet someone when they come over to your house. Or go to someone's house.
4. Say, "Please" and "Thank you" often. It shows respect and appreciation. In addition, if they are thanked, then say "You're welcome".
5. Clean up after yourself. Whether at home or at a friend's house, always pick up after yourself. 6. Take compliments courteously. If someone praises your children, teach them to be gracious and say, “thank you”, and avoid putting themselves down or pointing out flaws.
7. Respect differences. When people do things differently from your family because of diversity in culture, race, or religion, then teach your child respect. Point out how interesting it is or how different families do different things. Families have their own traditions or rituals and it is important and has meaning for that family.
8. Always ask for permission to an adult.

Mexico vs. Canada

Well, comparing Canada with Mexico is very difficult. Altough we are almost neighbors, and we share with USA the continent we know as North America, Mexico is simply a different country than his northern neighbours.
Mexico has a different history and a different culture and ways of doing and looking at things.
It's worth mentioning that both USA and Canada are developed countries, while Mexico is still in development, making a huge difference in all the topics I can think of.




PS: Haven't finished...