Does money turn a person from Smeagol to Gollum? And Spanish musing

I read about how money is the number one reason couples get divorced.  As we grow older, we are ever more conscious about the importance of money, especially in a city like Hong Kong, where the money is the basis that greases the society's operation.  If that is the case, one cannot ignore money in the equation when considering a union, dating, or getting married.  No wonder how taboo it may seem, it does a play a part in the happiness of two people.

In evaluating money, I have noticed that so many people in Hong Kong seem to have sold their soul in order to survive in a money-greased machine.  They value everything by money.  They will come to you when you have it and leave when you no longer have it.  So many I've met would ignore you if they judge you to be less worthy in their pursuit to obtain money.  Quite a few seem to value nothing other than money in life - their existence nothing more than a part in the machine.  Sometimes I see these people and I think that they are more like Gollum in Lord of the Rings.  Perhaps in a different environment, they would have more conscience, but here, they have surrendered to the all-powerful force of money.

I think I just can't like Asians because most are born into that mentality.  Many of the white people in Hong Kong are also subject to it, but it is at least not cultural.  Ordinary mainlanders, perhaps because of their younger age, seem to be less subject to the contagion than their Hong Kong counterparts, who seemed to learn about the rat race from an early age.

I visited the Spanish meetup group for the first time today.  It was quite good.  I think my character is more like the Spanish type.  I like their passion and their heart when they meet new people.  A Hong Kong guy came and just hogged up the whole conversation, also tried to play himself up as someone working for a bank when he just did some IT work.  Nothing against that, but one needs to be honest.  So unromantic.

I had a connection with a Spanish guy I met.  He taught English and Spanish in China and Hong Kong.  The thing is I wonder about these people who are not in banking if money would come between us.  I thought about a Peruvian guy I know from my college who was a PhD in the Bay Area.  I liked him.  He was fun and international.  For a long time, he wanted to settle down but could not find a girl in the Bay Area.  Now he already found someone, Chinese girl no less, from eHarmony.  I could have been with that guy.  He would have been a good companion. To meet someone entirely new from a different line of work, with much less economic potential is a barrier.  But we shall see.  On the other hand, I find that my Spanish is quite good.  I didn't forget much of it and am quite fluent.  A pat on my back for my language ability.