Girl About Town

Spring time is always a slow news timeas well. When I used to work in a newspaper, February was the month we alwaysstruggled with and by the time May or June rolled around we were reallyclutching at straws. I find it no different this year.

But columns must be written no matterwhat the month and so, I press on. The budget is coming up next month and thoughin the past I have not given this too much thought, it is becoming clearer to mehow this will affect my life and that of my peers. For instance, pet food pricesare predicted to shoot way up like they did last year. I already spend a bomb onmy cat: He has a delicate stomach, so he has to go to the vet frequently, hisfood costs about Rs 2,000 every month and of course, each time I’m in a petshop I’m tempted to buy him a toy, which he plays with for half a second andthen ignores because he prefers a piece of clothesline. And don’t even get mestarted on the fancy prices I pay for his scented litter, which he, well, usesfor his business. I don’t think I’m ready for children yet!

Also entertainment prices are predictedto go through the roof along with everything else and this makes me sad, becausewhat else do I earn for if not for entertainment? (And feeding my cat, clearly.)Already it is practically prohibitive to go to my favourite bar, and I have tonurse one drink the entire night gazing longingly at the platinum cards thatflash past me.

And talking of cards, here are twothings, I recently discovered, I do not have in common with my friends. Idon’t have a credit card. And I don’t invest. The first one is notvoluntary, I might be one of the only people in world who wait for the callcentres to ask if I want a credit card. This happened to me frequently and onceI said, ‘Yes’ and the girl on the other side said, ‘Yes?’ And I neverheard from them again. I like to think she died from the shock.

And it’s not like I don’t want toinvest. I do. I’ve even joined virtual investment games with fake money. Onlymy stocks keep falling alarmingly and if virtual money can vanish that fast, Idon’t like to think about what will happen with my real, hard-earned money.

So I justify it for myself. I tell myfriends it’s a good thing I don’t have a credit card because think about howmuch in debt I’d be. I think about investment vaguely as something I’ll dosomeday in the future when I’m 40.

Meanwhile, I’ll earn for my cat