Money Making Schemes

If you were my parents, would this persuade you?

btw its just a rough draft! and Im adding a lot more!

Dear Mom and Dad,
As you two know this summer I am going to be the big 1-7. Yep, just one year away from mayhem…. Just kidding about the mayhem. Anyways once I’m 18 I can ‘legally do what ever I want except drink alcohol. But don’t worry you really wont have to worry about any of that stuff, but one thing a plan on doing the summer I’m 18 is spend an entire semester with a program called cross cultural solutions. Cross Cultural solutions of CCS is a program almost identical to the Peace Corps, but instead of joining for a whole 2 years it has programs that only last up to 12 weeks…
This is a very long time away from home and Costa Rica is going to be good practice, but I feel that It is important to know what I’m getting myself into before I make such a huge time commitment… That’s why I’m requesting your consent, or more so, your, ‘approval’ to let me join the CCS for a teen summer program. Their teen programs are for teens aged 15-17 and only last 9-14 days.
In that time frame I would get to truly help the less fortunate… I’m not talking about helping in America. Because in America there are opportunities for every one and aid is available to all Americans. I’m talking about helping others who I feel do not have the resources in Ghana Africa.
After watching Slum dog millionaire I truly feel guilty for having so much. Let’s face it, we all have the capabilities to do so much yet when it comes to helping others everyone quickly makes an excuse…. Sure we donate money, but what too??? An American family that already has the backing of its community? A project that wants to beautify our city? Or funding for an extracurricular activity. The truth is they aren’t in most need of aid. Starving children being sold into slavery who can’t afford food on their backs are!
I have so much, a family, pets, a lake house, a room, all the food I could want, and endless list of luxuries… Its taken me time to realize that I don’t need all of this! Money is not what buys happiness, helping people and doing what you love is. Volunteering at the zoo is what I love and that doesent cost money!
The whole idea of this trip is to become completely submerged in a culture that doesn’t have all of this. I want to see the world from another perspective! I want to help the needy. I want to make a difference with my hands, not our pockets! I feel that this trip would truly help me get a grip on life. And I feel this with all of my heart, mind and soul!
This is not another shanannigans adventure. This is real. This has soul and passion. And above all, it is not about me, Its about being selfless!

HELP!!! Girls especially! What should I do?

I am a Chinese American who came from China years ago. As much as I want to bring my girlfriend to China, I feared of what is going to happen there, for many reasons.
First, Chinese people, men especially, rarely use perfume; while the majority of the people do not have the access of taking a shower daily…So the odor…
Second, China’s air is really polluted. I heard Americans who went there start coughing continuously because of the air, and many got sick.
Third, small towns of China are still not as modern as America, restroom wise…No, many restrooms are not just holes dug in the ground…but the toilet is shaped that way because many never used a toilet seat before and cannot get used to it…
Fourth…Americans need lots of private space… Chinese are just the opposite…especially the old people…cannot comprehend that people need privacy…if a son or daughter has a diary, the parents will read it and tell everyone about it as though nothing is wrong
Fifth…don’t know if Americans really mind…i just got that habit out of me when I moved here…but…When Chinese people eat, they do not have a spoon or chopstick that is used specifically for taking food from the dish to the plate…they use their own chopsticks, the chopsticks that are in their mouth, get food from the dish…sometimes flip around to search for meat…
Sixth…China is still somehow conservative when it comes relations between boyfriends and girlfriends, even for adults…So if me and my girlfriend are traveling/living with relatives in China, we can never get close, not even kiss on the cheek…Go to somewhere private? I bet my life someone is following…making sure i do not do the sinister stuff…
Seventh…if i want to visit my relatives in small town of China…i will have to live with the relatives or it is consider rude…and as i mentioned that they will not have shower at home…so if we want to take shower…we have to go to a commune shower place…donno if you Americans will feel comfortable or not…and would it be weird if my mom goes with her? b/c there is no way i am going to let her there alone, unable communicate, with all kinds of dangers…
Eighth…in China, shopping things are especially long because…well, sellers inflate the price of product 1.5 to 2 times ready to catch careless people…and buyers knew that so they start bargain…and the sellers aware that too so they inflate higher…so it is a norm now for buyers and sellers to bargain and bargain and bargain before they could make a deal…so, would my girlfriend thinks i am cheap b/c i bargain?
Ninth…due to the Chinese government’s determinism of ending prostitution [and only reserve it to the few powerful], no two different gender people who are not related or unmarried can legally live together…including hotel rooms…it is seriously, a law…so to make sure my girlfriend is not alone in a room and unable to communicate to people, the best way is if my mom shares a two bed rooms in a hotel with her…would it be uncomfortable?
Tenth…if Americans see a strange person, a person who dresses or looks different…those who have manners will quickly scan that person then quickly look away so not look rude…For many Chinese…nope, they don’t care, they will stare and stare and stare, and if they get close enough, touch…and my girlfriend is Caucasian… so much to discover…
Eleventh…well, in such a oppressed and poor society as China, people came up strange ways to make money… then someone get the idea that people are generous to homeless little children…so they hire kids of 5-6 years old from villages and go to big cities and pretend they are beggars…and that is a big operation…and some of the kids are trained in really evil ways in asking money…holding leg of the target, for example, is commonly used…and i do not know what should i do in front of my girlfriend except get my money robbed
Twelfth…Many Chinese thinks all Americans are filthy rich…they don’t care about how much we need to spend on necessities each day…all they knew is that our money is 6-7 times as theirs and then they use that amount to compare how much we could buy in their less inflated market… For example, a person earn 36000 RMB in China is like a person earn six figure in America, because the price of goods are lower. So…a person earns 30000 dollars a year, convert in Chinese money, is 210000 RMB, which is enough for a person to live in China like a millionaire in America. They don’t care how much we spend…all they concerned about is we have millions of RMB in deposits…so many will spend our money carelessly b/c they assume we don’t care…like they will use my 50 dollars cologne as much as possible while they have the chance…b/c they think i have plenty…and i will look cheap in front of my girlfriend if i refuse to let them use it…
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So… do you think an American girl can take all this? or should i just

What should I do about my friends wedding registry and the wedding?

My friend lives with her husband whom she legally married about six months ago…They are having the actual ceremony and reception in March and their registry is so lame. She loves to bake and about 60% of the registry is bakeware and baking accessories. I want to get them something that they can both use and the stuff that they have on there that is for both of them is $100+ and right now, I am not making enough money to spend $100 on a wedding gift and keep in mind, I need to get a bridal shower gift, and a bachelorette gift and I am in the wedding and have to pay for a hotel room, my dress, and my shoes. this wedding is costing me more many than it is costing them becusae theri families are paying for it! I feel like she is being so selfish becuase even her registry reflects her selfishness. I feel like she is a little girl playing house. She even told me before that they decided to get married so quickly becuase he makes more money since he is a marine. This to me sounds more like a business deal than a marriage. Im so upset that I have to take part of this free-loader/money grubbing wedding!

My ex keeps lying to me about money, and it’s getting really frustrating?

My ex boyfriend (my son’s father) has been lying to me about money since he left. He keeps telling me he’s ‘broker than broke’ and won’t have enough money to pay for gas to get to and from work. He also just got a new job, and said they won’t pay him until the end of the month.

Well all of these things have turned out to be lies. He lives with his parents so he has absolutely no bills there; even his food is paid for. I was putting our son in his vehicle one day and my son grabbed a piece of paper. I took it away from him and found it was a receipt for a $50 nerf gun. He quickly took the receipt and put it in his pocket. Then I saw all his new cds and this is what he said: “oh well my mom went to those 2 for $10 sales and only bought one for herself each time” yet they were newer cds and I know his mom is careful with her money and doesn’t buy cds anyways.

He hardly ever sees our son. And I’m pretty sure he only does at all because he lives with his parents and they want to see him. It’s disappointing and sad really.

Tonight I was talking to his brother (we’ve remained friends and talk online frequently) and he told me about 2 new xbox games he bought this week. Then also said he makes him go out all the time and is always spending money. And then he told me that my ex got his first pay today.

I’m furious about all the lying about money. I go on Friday to meet with a child support worker. And until things get sorted out legally I plan on remaining quiet about everything and not asking for money or anything. Is this the best way to go about this?

What do you think Drug smugglers from Mexico move into New Mexico town anything to be to alarmed about?

COLUMBUS, N.M. (AP) — This dusty little border town with almost no visible means of support has been seeing something of a boom in the past year: Brand-new Lincoln Navigators and Cadillac Escalades with flashy wheel rims are parked just off the bleak main drag. Homes are selling quickly, sometimes for cash.

The source of this sudden wealth? An influx of Mexican drug smugglers, investigators say.

The smugglers are fleeing the Mexican army’s occupation of the town of Palomas, on the other side of the U.S.-Mexico border fence, and settling in Columbus, where there has been a law enforcement vacuum. The four-man police force in Columbus has turned over seven times in three years because of scandal or apathy.

“We know the names of the people,” said Luna County Sheriff Raymond Cobos, who is based in Deming, 35 miles away. “I know that if I were a person involved in criminal activity, whether it’s drug-related, human smuggling related, I certainly would welcome the absence of police.”

So far, Columbus has been spared any violence, even though the sheriff’s investigators estimate 10 percent of the population of 2,000 may be involved in illegal activity.

“I would say greater,” said resident Robert Odom. “If a person wanted to, they could make a good living in Columbus – not legally, but they can make a lot of money if they are willing to risk going to jail.”

Ranches and farms in the area are the largest legitimate employers, along with the few shops and cafes in town. Officially, the median income is less than $15,000 a year, a sum that is hard to reconcile with the sudden prosperity around town.

“There’s a lot of people who don’t work but have a lot of possessions,” Odom said, adding that he often spots local teens driving fancy new cars. “They have hubcaps that cost more than my truck.”

Real estate agent Martha Skinner, a former Columbus mayor, said she had her best year in 2008, selling about $500,000 in property in town, some to locals, some to Mexican buyers. The median home value in Columbus is about $52,000.

She said she had a few cash transactions where she couldn’t help thinking, “Well, where did they get this money?”

Some residents and local officials say that without the illegal cash, the town might not survive.

Last month, Columbus got a new police chief, Angelo Vega, who said any illegal activity will be met with jail time. “This is a new day for Columbus,” he declared.

In Palomas, the Mexican army took over law enforcement a year ago after the local police force was driven out by the drug dealers.

The Columbus police department has been in disarray too, plagued with unqualified officers and allegations of wrongdoing. One chief was arrested on gun theft charges that were later dropped, and two others were never certified police officers.

Working from a temporary trailer with wood paneling and cracked linoleum floors, Vega may be fighting an uphill battle. Around Columbus, some townspeople don’t see a problem.

“Criminals don’t live here,” said Maria Gutierrez, the 48-year-old owner of the Pancho Villa Cafe, where menus include a wanted poster for the Mexican outlaw whose 1916 raid on the United States took place on this patch of desert. “The problem is in Palomas. It’s serene here. It’s tranquil here.”

It is not clear whether the smugglers are legal or illegal immigrants, but local law enforcement authorities say that’s not their business, it’s the federal government’s. And townspeople don’t seem to care either way.

Odom said he suspects that the crime plaguing much of Mexico – more than 10,700 people have been killed since Mexico’s president cracked down on the drug trade after taking office in 2006 – hasn’t crossed into Columbus because the smugglers living here don’t want to draw any heat from U.S. authorities.

But the sheriff said things could erupt at any time.

“To me it’s kind of like living in proximity to a refinery,” Cobos said. “If you have gasoline fumes that you can’t properly vent, or control, and you have them in a confined space, all you need is a spark.”