One of the lucky ones

A few days ago I was talking with one of my co-workers. He ran into a string of bad luck. First, he couldn't afford where he was living so he had to move. Then, he lost his high-speed internet and had to go back to dialup. Before anyone would say "Well, who cares about high-speed 'net anyway?", bear in mind that for us computer types, losing high-speed 'net is like going from a Corvette to a Chevette. The Chevette may get you from Point A to Point B, but it's a lot slower and a lot more annoying to drive.

It just made me realize, once again, that I'm lucky. I'm lucky to have a roof over my head I can afford, I'm lucky to have my health, I'm lucky I don't need any medications and I'm lucky for a whole lot more.

I also realized that high-speed 'net is a luxury. Is it required? Not at present, but, should I ever run a business full time again it will be. Regardless of that, right now it just serves as a nice-to-have thing. I mean, here I am, writing this from my brand new laptop on wireless high-speed internet - I shouldn't complain (and I don't).

I guess it's just one of those eye-opener things when you hear someone else's tales of woe. You realize that whenever you think about complaining, there is someone who is always worse off than you are. At that point your complaints seem miniscule and meaningless.