Fame and Fortune

Ever wonder how it is to live a celebrity's life? I just thought about this while taking a break from work. In majority of the hours where we regular people are in our respective offices, what could these movie and TV personalities be doing when not in front of the camera?

I admit that before I even thought about this brilliant piece of topic about stars [pun intended], I had always been fascinated with celebrities, specifically their lives as regular joes. I would watch lifestyle episodes that feature hobbies of famous people and buy magazines featuring their homes. Just recently, I waited for the delivery of Yes! Magazine in my suki newstand as I came across an ad extolling their celebrity homes issue.

Short of being a peeping tom I remember peering at the gates of reported homes of the stars who lived in Ayala Alabang after school -- I was fortunate enough to have my high school smack inthe middle of richville. I'd imagine what the inside looked like and how the celebrity would find it difficult to call a family member living with him or her because of the size of the place [I had no idea about intercoms back then].

Which brings me back to what these people may be doing while I tap away on my keyboard. Would they be sleeping in their king-sized beds dreaming about getting an acting trophy? Or could they be watching their own newly released film in their home theater after having gotten their daily exercise at the home gym/tennis court/swimming pool?

The possibilities are mind-boggling, for me at least. Could I therefore be harboring a secret desire to be famous and have all that wealth? Fame has no appeal to me but wealth, well, this is another story. I realize that my fascination with celebrities may really be a fascination with wealth.

While I agree with Henry David Thoreau when he said 'That man is richest whose pleasures are cheapest', I believe that wealth brings a different dimension into achieving happiness. The wealthy, I imagine, have a greater capacity to find joy in their day-to-day lives because they are not bothered (as we are) by what happens tomorrow. Let's admit that while money does not guarantee contentment, it can provide a sense of security for the future and obtain for one tools to further happiness.

Am I materialistic then? I would like to think that I consider money a means to an end, not the 'end' itself.

Which brings me back to my dream of making it in 'cooler and greener pasture' [refer to my Welcome, me! blog]. My fingers are still crossed...