"When I got my first place, I had peanuts on the coffee
table for my friends when they came over to visit. As time went on, the peanuts
disappeared - to be replaced by cashew nuts. And still later on, the cashews
were replaced by pistachios…and so that's how life is: a progression from
peanuts to cashew nuts to pistachios."
I like this little allegory of life. It sums up the simple observation that the level of expenditure goes up as time goes by and income increases. Rare will be the case where we do not increase our expenditure when income increases!
I think this just reflects the human desire for something better when we can afford it. As a student, we survived on much less than what we've got now. But I doubt many of us will want to live like a student now.
Out here, my friends have shortened the principle to "pcp". As in, "Is this apartment cashew nut or what?" (Abigail on my first visit to her apartment in Discovery Bay.) "Definitely pistachio - might be macadamia or off the scale" - admiring an expensive piece of furniture. And "Yes, 'Cashew nut' Colin" - after Colin decided to scale back from buying a proper file for photo-negatives for something cheaper.
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Amended on: 19 October, 2000