Ever think about what you could/would do if you suddenly had $1000? What about $100,000? I do all the time.
Since I am still at a 20 hour job, that pays me just enough to cover my small cost of living, thinking in the thousands is hard to do sometimes.
Stretching it out to hundreds of thousands? What? No one has THAT kind of money. Pshh. Oh, they do. And I'm sure some of the worked very hard, or inherited it, or were just born with it. I can't even fathom it.
$500,000? Hells nah. What about, dare I say, $1,000,000?!?! No! Surely not! Not even god has THAT kind of bread! Well, no, there are people with that kind of cash.
Well, earlier today, I was feeling kinda down. Making virtually no money makes you a little depressed. Feeling like the degree you worked really hard for is just sitting on top of your bookcase, is frustrating. Totally. But, I started getting a little fidgety. What if, all-of-a-sudden my bank account had $1,000,000,000 in it? What the fuck would I do with all that crazy money?!? Getting that kind of money is kind of like the edge-of-the-volcano-test for someone who has never really had any. Who would I become and what would I do with it?
So, I made a list.
If I had $1,000,000,000:
Quit my job.
Pay off student loans.
Pay off my sister's student loans.
Pay off any loans/debts of my parents.
Design and build my own house.
Buy two cars and hire a driver (Even as a millionaire I don't think I'd want to drive...).
Buy a really good bicycle.
Buy studio/office space fully equipt for art making.
Start gallery and small-time publishing resource for artists/writers.
Buy massages for entire “minion” staff at HW600 Fred Meyer.
Donate to Planned Parenthood.
Donate to Public Schools.
Donate to Public Libraries.
Donate to Heifer International.
Donate to World Wildlife Fund.
Donate to PNCA.
Donate to TSOTA.
Donate to Mercy Corps.
Donate to Zimbabwe Art Project.
Donate to Human Rights Campaign.
Donate to The Wild Image Project.
Donate to Portland Mission and Salvation Army.
Donate to the victims of Hurricane Katrina and the floods of Haiti.
Donate to Breast Cancer Awareness/Prevention.
Donate to AIDS/HIV research.
Donate to the companies who work to find homes, jobs, and healthcare for soldiers coming back from the Middle East.
Invest in chocolate.
Outfit my own in-home gym; access for any friends/family who want to use it.
Put money toward groups who appose/prevent the usage of coral, ivory, and blood diamonds.
Travel: England, Scotland, Ireland, Norway, France, Belgium, Italy, Mexico, Japan, New Orleans, Hawaii, New York, San Francisco, Madagascar, Galapagos Islands, Australia, Egypt.
Start a grant for artists.
Start a grant for liberal arts and humanities.
Buy a dog.
Learn bass guitar.
Learn French, German, Japanese, and Norwegian. Maybe Spanish.
Get a book published.
Shopping trip. Clothes and furniture, mostly. Y'all can come too!
Lastly, I'd get a job that I love. Or start my own company and manage it.
What would you do? That's a fuck ton of money. Would it end all the problems or just cause a bunch more? Would you change a lot? Would your personality warp and stretch and become monstrous. Sure, I make this list, but what would really happen? Would I become a drug-addicted, spoiled, media-hungry, shallow, wash out? Blow it all on coke and X and strippers? Maybe. But, I like making the list anyway.
I hope I would do all of those things.
I'd love to travel all those places and give 75% of my assets to charities and my family.
Yes, I'd probably go a little nuts and buy all of the clothes I ever wanted and the studio space seems like a splurge, but hell, we're not all saints. I'm not. I know that. I would probably throw a couple massive and irresponsible parties and I'd probably have a much bigger ego. Yeah, I would probably think I was better than a lot of people. Or not. I don't know. And I never will unless I suddenly had that money. Which I never will, most likely. Oh well.
I think it's pretty cool to think about. Slightly depressing, 'cause now I definitely want to do all those things with it, but cool and interesting none-the-less.
LOVE,
Natty. G.
music: CAKE - I want to love you madly
TV: Leverage
book: the Nightside books by Simon R. Green.
p.s. Arty post tonight or tomorrow! Finally! Updates!
