Dear 1st world problems,
Sunday I suffered a first in my life. No, I’m not talking
about a weekend abstaining from the act of “trickle-down economics” among the
numerous bars in Chico or having a kid show up on my doorstep claiming that I’m
his father and this time it being real (this happens more than you would think
and my advisor fears it will be detrimental to my political career). Let me
paint a picture for you…In the middle of the hottest stretch of the year thus
far in California the air conditioner in my home decided to sit this one out. At
first I said to myself; “No, problem, the house is well insulated and it will
be fixed in no time.” Sunday turned to Monday and as a phone call was made to
fix the issue the response on the other end of the line was not what I wanted
to hear. “Sir, we will be out on Thursday to take care of your problem.” Using
simple Chico State math I deduced that I had another 3 days until my house
would be able to hang meat in it again. This was not to my liking but I said to
myself, “No problem, you grew up without the benefit of this luxury, so if you
were able to tolerate it then, you could now.” Upon entering my house after
suffering from near heat exhaustion at the gym (only the best decisions are
made at crossfit) I was hit with a blast of air as if the furnace was on. I
strolled over to my thermostat to find the ungodly number of “90” staring back
at me. After turning on all available fans in the house I took a cold shower
and laid down in bed once again assuring myself that the heat was no big deal. As
the next day brought more oppressive heat and another sleepless night I became
more agitated in my dealings with everyone. I felt that the property management
company wasn’t catering to my needs and thus another phone call was needed.
First it was the summer intern answering phones who dealt with my wrath. For
every analogy and reason I gave her on why I should have mine fixed right away
I was met with apology after apology. Once again, this was not to my liking.
The next person in line was the property manager herself and as I explained to
her that you wouldn’t leave an 80 year old geriatric suffering in this heat (I’m
in the ballpark but not close) and other examples that a no practicing or licensed
lawyer could come up with it when it donned on me……I was suffering from 1st
world problems. I thought that these were only things you read about or were
only experienced by hipsters and suburban white women…But this was real. I paused
and gathered myself and thanked her for the help and the knowledge that they would
take care of my issue. In a modern society where we are afforded the luxuries that
we have it sometimes gets lost in translation that the only things we truly
need to survive are food, water and shelter. Lessons like this are life’s way of
letting us know that no matter how bad you think your situation is, life is
good. Usually a trip to the Walmart on a Sunday will do this for me…
PS. Happy Hump Day peeps, stay cool and remember…..Money is
the fuel for all choices.
#1stworldproblems #life #empireliving
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