Not a very eventful evening here; we spent the time watching the Fiesta Bowl and hashing out finances. The game was pretty good and in spite of my anti-BSU bias I thought they played an excellent game and deserved to win. My favorite part of the broadcast was at the end when the camera crew found shots of crying TCU fans. It just seemed so cruel. I expected a little more of a shootout, but the defense and one trick play really decided it. At least my Idaho Vandals also won their bowl game this year. It may seem odd that I attend Boise State and was sort of rooting against them, but the only reason I don't go to the University of Idaho anymore is that there aren't a lot of jobs in Northern Idaho.
Hashing out the finances was an exercise. I probably won't air it all out here in a public forum, but we've essentially been treading water for a few years and the next year or two will really make or break us in that regard. I am looking at my hobby projects and trying to prioritize them by which ones I've already got enough figures to complete. Some extraneous stuff like World of Warcraft accounts and some of our cell phone services and maybe even our internet speed are going to get cut. It's a good excuse to read more, if you want to look on the bright side of things. I have been incredibly lucky to have steady employment throughout this recession, and even my wife's layoff worked out pretty well for us. I was looking at my profile on Kiva today and noticed the average annual income in much of the world is less that I make in one or two months, and I am relatively low on the food chain here. I've been to parts of the world where nearly everyone lives in abject poverty, and it seems ungrateful of me to feel resentful when most of my worries and concerns are about luxuries and excesses rather than a daily struggle just to survive. I think that we often get so focused on the "woe is me" attitude that it is hard to look outside ourselves and realize how lucky we are. If my main worries in life are a newer wood stove, having to wait on buying an AR-15, and which miniatures to paint next, then I really have no place to complain about anything.
Hashing out the finances was an exercise. I probably won't air it all out here in a public forum, but we've essentially been treading water for a few years and the next year or two will really make or break us in that regard. I am looking at my hobby projects and trying to prioritize them by which ones I've already got enough figures to complete. Some extraneous stuff like World of Warcraft accounts and some of our cell phone services and maybe even our internet speed are going to get cut. It's a good excuse to read more, if you want to look on the bright side of things. I have been incredibly lucky to have steady employment throughout this recession, and even my wife's layoff worked out pretty well for us. I was looking at my profile on Kiva today and noticed the average annual income in much of the world is less that I make in one or two months, and I am relatively low on the food chain here. I've been to parts of the world where nearly everyone lives in abject poverty, and it seems ungrateful of me to feel resentful when most of my worries and concerns are about luxuries and excesses rather than a daily struggle just to survive. I think that we often get so focused on the "woe is me" attitude that it is hard to look outside ourselves and realize how lucky we are. If my main worries in life are a newer wood stove, having to wait on buying an AR-15, and which miniatures to paint next, then I really have no place to complain about anything.
The second half of your post really hit home for me. I tend to complain a lot and not too long ago I had to re-evaluate my life, and basically, I have nothing to complain about. It's nice to have luxuries, but I want to live more simply and not live in excess. As long as we have our basic needs met, I think I'll always be happy.
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