Archivi dei tag: parties

This Christmas

This Christmas I didn’t go home to Italy. This Christmas I am in Cuba.

Many have asked me why Cuba.

For many years I wanted to visit Cuba and finally I decided to book the flight, organize a small tour with a local agency and then finish the holiday in a hotel on a beach, that looks like the photo you see above.

I have been travelling alone with my son, my husband did not feel like coming with us. It’s a pity, this makes me a little sad, because Christmas is meant to be with the family.

But this Christmas is different. After two years of Covid, now there is war in Europe, we must save on energy, our homes and offices are all rather cold.

So, I said to myself:

  1. Carpe diem. Life is short, sometimes it is also difficult, my son will be finishing his master, I received a promotion at work, this year is the right time that we will go to Cuba.
  2. Considering the temperatures there are here in Brussels (but in Bologna it would not be better), I decide to go to get some sun on a beautiful Caribbean island rich in history, and an outpost of communism in the American continent.

That Cuba is the outpost of communism in America has not benefited them much nor does it continue to benefit them. In fact, the island has been under an embargo since the sixties precisely because of this, because they are communists. Life on the island is difficult, many things are missing. My guide told me that what for us is normal here for them is a luxury. Unfortunately, medicines are also not easily found. So, this Christmas, instead of making the usual donation to an association that wants to protect human rights or the environment, I decided to show my solidarity with the Cuban people by going to visit their island.

Wherever you are right now, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year

And remember: carpe diem!

Would More Money Make You Happier?

Markus Persson, a Swedish 36-year-old business man, spends his time on Twitter, where he talks about his life and that of his company. One day, he twitted something that will change his life.

Markus created in 2009 the video game called Minecraft, a kind of virtual Lego game that has become a social phenomenon. But, all of a sudden, he ends up getting tired of running his business, Mojang.

So, one evening in June 2014, he announced on Twitter that he would sell Mojang. In no time one IT giant contacted him and bought it for 2.5 billion dollars (2.2 billion euros).

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

On permanent vacation or lying in his luxury villa, he continues to tell about his life on Twitter: he complains that he no longer sees his friends, that parties in Ibiza have become boring…to make a long story short, he gets depressed.

Markus may be the victim of what is called the “Easterlin Paradox“, after the name of the economist who demonstrated it. Richard Easterlin has observed over several years that while the per capita income in the US increased, the proportion of people saying being “very happy” did not increase at the same time.

Later, other researchers found that the more money you made, the happier you felt but there was a limit: up to 75,000 dollars (about 68,000 euros) per year per household. Over this amount of money, the extra money would not make you happier!

Markus earned far more than 75,000 dollars but he has no friends, no plans for the future, and he is also depressed. He even ends up arguing with lots of people on Twitter, making comments deemed racist and misogynist.

As a result, in 2019 the big IT company who bought his business does not invite him to the 10 year anniversary of Minecraft, and deleted his name from the credits of the game. Markus gained a lot of money, but he also lost a lot.

Do you agree with the Easterlin Paradox? Would you be happier with more money? Would 75,000 dollars be enough to have a happy life? In my case, I would be definitely happy with 75,000 dollars a year!

Photo by Lidya Nada on Unsplash