nai's rhetoric

when we were young, kids wanted to be a lawyer, journalist, astronaut, pai kia, but i wanted to be an ice cream man. thats right. when i was young, i wanted to be like that uncle who sold ice cream at my school canteen. 20c potongs on a hot wednesday afternoon after a cut throat game of hopscotch soothes the nerves like no other. i thought he was uber cool loh.
then my mother wanted a lawyer in the family, so i decided i would be a lawyer. it didnt last very long. sometime in secondary school i thought i would definitely do journalism, for my love of literature and adventure. then a little later, i got intrigued with the human pyschic and wanted to do pyschology. thought it would be pretty cool to understand human behaviour. or even criminology (think csi). somehow or another all my idealism seemed to have ebbed over the years. now people ask me what im studying, i would reply rather sheeplishy: erm.. im doing finance. then that person would give me the look and probably think to himself: not another capitalist greedy bastard. *shrug* bo pian, when money talks, even bullshit can walk one. so so so, now im here in london, financial capital of europe studying finance.
i still consider myself an idealist. i still want to save the world and end proverty. eradicate malaria and find a cure for cancer. intervene in political strife and attempt to be the arbitrageur between them. run a marathon for terry fox and raise money for disabled kids. yes i would like to do all of those. but there is one problem. i also want a ferrari. you can see where the point of contention is. i cant help it, im a materialist. i have a soft spot for luxury goods. i like my paul smith accessories, my bally shoes, my hugo boss suits and my ermenegildo zegna italian silk ties. i want to sample the finest caviar and eat the rarest white truffles. all enjoyed over a glass of the most vintage clarets. viva la vie indeed. how? save the world or pump the ferrari?