May 16, 2007
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what's up with all these label whores polluting our society? i mean, good grief. can you really tell the difference between a $500 pair of jimmy choo's and a $40 pair of target branded ones? besides the cup itself.. a $5 starbucks latte or a generic company's $3 latte? a $40 bottle of philosophy shampoo or a $4 bottle of herbal essence? you're simply forking up the big bucks for the name. for what purpose? to show the world that you can afford these luxurious items? pft, i think not. i briefly watched a show (forgot which one).. where a chick came on and confessed that she had a shopping addiction. she can't even afford this habit as she's purchasing designer handbags for ridiculous amounts.. the same goes with clothes, shoes, etcetera.. she was cashing out student loans and all her paychecks to fund these things. oy.
i wrote this entry last year after a particular incident.. tsk tsk.. i just don't get it. someone explain it..
oh, the irony
i was just at target during my lunch break.. as i was impatiently waiting in line to pay for one damn birthday card, i noticed the lovely lady in front of me. she was completely decked out in gucci. she had the whole works -- the shoes, purse, sunglasses, wallet.. now, these are the items i could spot with my bare eyes. i'm guessing her undies were probably branded with gucci, too. yeah, she was the same lady who held up the gotdamn fucking line (when people behind her had places to be) scrummaging through that $500 wallet and $1,000 purse of hers for her stupid effing $.50 off coupons to use on her $2.99 toothpaste, $10.99 detergent, and $4.99 pan scrubber. oh, the irony.
so as i'm angrily speeding back to work with the tunes of mister marley blasting away on my speakers, i began to vividly recall an incident years ago. i worked at this medical clinic located in the heart of k-town. one summer day this (korean) lady walks in. i asked her what the nature of her visit was and she explained that she had been having bloody discharge from her vagina (she was way past her menopause years).. so i get her info and her plan/insurance company requires her to cough up a $15 copay. not too shabby at all. i then get a tude from her telling me that it was ridiculous we had to collect "this much" from her.. she murmurs under her breath and unwillingly pulls her louis vuitton wallet out of her louis vuitton bucket bag (oh, the irony) and basically throws the 15 bucks at me.. so a good 45 minutes or so elapses and out they come. i overhear the doc telling her that we would call her when the lab results came in and to not worry as the lady had a very concerned look on her face. alas, lunch arrives and the doc and i go to the local japanese restaurant to get our grub on. as we're waiting for our food to come out, she mentions the patient from earlier..
"she had been having sharp pains in her lower area for weeks.. then in the last few days, the blood had been continuously pouring o-u.."
"and she comes in now??!"
"she told me that she did not want to have to pay her copay for nothing.. so she held off to see if it'd go away" the doc disgustingly informed me.
"are you serious? hers was only $15!" (there were folks who had to pay double or even triple that amount)
"it's unfortunate because her vaginal walls are all deteriorated now.. this could have been prevented.. i'm still in shock that she waited this long. i know how those results are going to come back from the looks of the exam that i performed.. cervical cancer"
the lab results came back a few weeks later. i left her a message the previous day to come in.. it was not a minute after we settled in the clinic that next morning when her and her daughter came rushing in.. sucks, but i had to collect $15 again for this visit. and once more, she copped a tude with me about it.. (ive noticed how people think that if they start being rude and defiant that it'll prevent something -- like payment from being collected..) sorry, doesn't work that way. anyway.. 20 minutes later, her and her daughter come out in tears.. what a tragedy.
as they're leaving, i look outside only to see them driving off in a $150,000 car. oh, the irony.
Comments (26)
am i an asshole for not feeling bad for people like that?
-ray leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Well, you can't begrudge someone for having cancer, no matter how bitchy they are.
I was kind of glad to hear that she had cancer. I was thinking that grandma was bumping uglies and caught gonorrhea.
hmm.. alright... i stopped reading after "bloody discharge from her vagina"... thats gross.
you making me feel bad...i need to stop spending too =)
so what if she's rich?
ain't gonna take a penny w/ her when she's gone~
should know better to screw health over money~ =_=
i complain about my $10 copay not 'cuz it's expensive, but 'cuz i have to pay it 3 times to get a eff'ing x-ray taken and looked at, so the doctor can refer me to some other guy who'll tell me exactly what i know for yet another $10, 5 days after the injury!
otherwise, with a few exceptions, i prefer shirts with no branding on it... small logos are unavoidable, but nothing that screams A|X or A&F -_-
you mean, herbal essences isnt a good name brand? wth? it smells so fruity, and delicious.
haha I don't like 15 dollar copays... cuz mine is only 10 now, so that would be a 50% increase. A *FIFTY PERCENT* increase! Heck, I'm still pissed that they raised the price of wrigley's gum to 30 cents, up from 25 cents. That's a *TWENTY PERCENT* increase!! Because of that, I've revolted against them and decided to buy premium gum that's worth a buck fifty a pack! But of course I have to buy it in bulk at Costco so that it'll only cost me 35 cents per pack!
Oh, the irony...
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I think a lot of "rich" asians in general are such trend whores. I hope I don't become like one of them after I become rich.
I spent near 100 bucks at a thrift store the other day. Now that's irony.
I tend to have unbranded clothes. I really think it's pointless (unless you call being a human billboard a "point") to parade around with some brand name plastered across your shirt. If it's got some kind of nice design or something, it's not so bad. There's something to look at, besides blatant name-dropping.
Why spend hundreds of dollars on a purse? You won't have any money left to put in it!
It is funny, the whole copay thing. People will not fret to pay $300 to take care of the thorn in Fido's paw or on a new pair of shoes, but get pissy about having to pay a $15 copay to maintain their health.
i remember you talking about the lady at the clinic before..
There are tons of rich, stingy people in NYC.
so true!
theory of the leisure class
thorstein veblen
i dunno.. i still dig chicks with jimmy choos on.
theory of the leisure class
thorstein veblen
i dunno.. i still dig chicks with jimmy choos on.
How do you think they got rich, but by penny-pinching on unimportant things, like medical expenses?
agreed 120%
hey stranger, how the hell are you. i dedicated an entire post to you (the chewbacca post) just to see if you were still reading me. anyhow, it's good to hear from you. sorry to hear about your dog, he looked real cute, but you were only acting in his best interests. as for me, a lot as happened. i got promoted at work, my ex is getting married, i went and came back from hawaii, and then there's a whole bunch of little shit nobody really wants to hear about.
i remember that post. there is no explanation for people who can't figure out what the value of a dollar is. some people are just retarded.
as for regret, i think a lot of people regret, but the thing is that i always tell people i don't regret things because everything (even my mistakes) have shaped me into who i am today. but the truth is that there are things i could go back and change. there aren't a whole lot of them, but they're big things that could impact where i am today. so i guess i shouldn't say i regret a lot, but rather i do regret more than i let on.
your story was depressing.
thanks...
Wow. $150k car and she's griping? ****. Not to mention she's conditioning her daughter to be a bitch as well.
I don't know much about label whoring. I believe in the idea of function over form. I agree that some things look nice, but in the case of clothing, I'd rather be comfortable. Which then translates to occasionally having to be the extra dollar for comfort. Insert: wears plain t-shirts. Aside from clothing, sometimes you have to pay to play (depending on the perception of it and what it is), i.e. some hobbies just tend to be hard on the wallet.
ryc: I'm not big on bananas myself, but they weren't half bad. They went well with the rest of the dish.
oh man... i remember that entry about the lady at the dr. office from a long time ago... yeah... i hate it when people hold up the line to find coupons or .02 in their purse... "wait.. i know it's in here...." ugh... I don't know about some brands.. but when it comes to hair products... yes.. the more expensive shit is generally better... it lasts longer, don't leave a funky residue, doesn't damage the hair, not too toxic to breath... and you use less to achieve the same style with a lesser product... yeah... I'll spend $20 on good hair products... but that's cause I can see a difference... thanks for letting me add.. =)
I thought I had already subscribed to you and I was wondering why you weren't updating for like, forever and ever.
Sup..interesting entry..I would think when it came to a few bucks, something like that wouldn't be too much to ask for when you have money..well people are greedy like that..they think they'll take the money when their gone..
To me, the greatest issue with the "leisure class," is that health and a long life are implicitly assumed. Indeed, all their peers will be assumed to achieve greatly for themselves, whether by their own effort/good luck or through another's efforts. It's not a conscious decision -- it's merely that they (we?) now assume that it is our right to have plenty.
It's an interesting problem in healthcare because, first of all, we obviously aren't all going to be healthy all the time -- but the extention is that we assume that society should take care of us. Our healthcare in the States is the most unholy hybrid of socialization and capitalism -- with some of the nastiest aspects of both. don't want to go on for pages, especially since the focus isn't on the healthcare system -- it's focused on the heart/thoughts of the "rich lady." Wealth is a funny thing, isn't it? Many are willing to scrimp and save to buy one uber-expensive item -- and deny themselves everything else. Seeking luxury and beauty at all costs -- and you illustrated it so brilliantly.
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