I’ve spent the past several months, and particularly the past several days, extraordinarily frustrated with the process of trying to find, and then close on, a new home. NPR told me this morning that as real estate prices are down 20% in Atlanta from where they were last year, new home purchases have spiked this quarter. Hence our inability to get bids accepted on reduced-price inventory since June. But after finally going under contract more than 2 months ago, we’ve seen closing dates postponed again and again from late October to mid November to late November to tomorrow. But yesterday afternoon, I learned we’d more than likely have to postpone yet again, which means the schedules for the construction crew, mother-in-law who was to help paint, appliance movers, etc. all have to be moved yet again. And I’ve been pissed off ever since.
But then I remembered a conversation I had Saturday with my blogging friends Dave and Heather. Dave was talking about how he tends to censor his usual griping about travel SNAFUs on his blog when he’s vacationing (as opposed to trips for work, like what brought him to Atlanta last weekend), since it’d likely piss readers off to see someone who’s hopping between Australia and Fiji bitching about a flight delay. Such is how I’ve felt any time someone asks how we’re doing or if he/she can pray for us, etc.
Then I saw this website called the “global rich list.” While I knew that we in North America–even our poor–have a much better life than most of the rest of the world, I didn’t know the exact figures. For example, most of us remember getting a special page in our high school yearbooks for being Top Ten Percent, right? Some of us even got that designation in college. Did you know being in the top 10% of earners worldwide means making $20,000/year? That’s poverty for a four-person family in the U.S., but compared to the rest of the world, it’s wealthy (especially considering our poor have a car, a TV, cellphones, clean water, shelter, etc.). What about the recently vilified top 1%? It’s an annual income of $50,000. This, incidentally, was the median income in the U.S. for 2010 (see what one can learn from NPR every morning?). So, more than half of Americans are in the top 1% of the world in terms of annual income.
In any event, to those who are like me and often get accused of pessimism (when we all know it’s just REALISM, right?), let’s take a break for such and be grateful this week.
This week, I’m grateful for those of y’all who’ve contributed to my Movember efforts! Our team has passed $12,000 raised. Think how many testicles we’ve saved!
I could list many, many other people, things, and events for which (and for whom) I am grateful. So can you.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Good perspective on Thanksgiving! In that spirit: I’m thankful I live somewhere that has electricity and CLEAN running water, since most people don’t get that in non “First World” countries.
@betty, Yes!
Many of us definitely have the kind of problems that most of the rest of the world would be thrilled to have. I try to remember that any time I’m whining about my job, at least I’ve got a pretty good one to whine about.
@holmes, Ditto.
Amen, Muskrat. Even the testicles have more money than a huge portion of the world!
I am extremely grateful, and try to remember it as often as possible.
Happy Thanksgiving!!
@SLaw, you too!
And THIS is why I want to take my kids to SE Asia, because they have no CLUE how good they have it, or even how irrelevant their concept of “poor” is.
@britt, Me too–I want them to go to Africa with me (or perhaps my friend’s orphanage in Nicaragua…after I see it first–next month!).
So I can’t bitch about my scraggly movember stache here, right? Damn.
@busy dad, Bitch away! I won’t judge (out loud).
so. can we pray for you ?
(hee hee hee)
@mrs hall, Sure! We’ll just ignore the rest of the world for a couple minutes til you finish.
Nice stache.
@jack, Why, thanks!
Sobering numbers. Not that I am spending more on microbrews per week than many of those other 99% or anything. Wow.
@seattledad, It’s okay if it’s microbrews. It’s what the 99% would want, I’m certain.
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