I just made myself some tea and it's TOO HOT.  I actually have to let it sit and cool down a little.  Can you believe how horrible this is...what a waste of time...and now my tongue hurts.


Oh the humanity!


I get amazed at the little things that bother me.  Slow Wi-Fi.  The car's making a rattling sound.  Nothing in the fridge I feel like eating.  Having to be in Anchorage when I'd rather go on a bike ride.

And, around the world, we have people dying of hunger, going to bed on the streets, fighting in wars, living in abject poverty, waking up not knowing if there will be clean water today.

Puts my too hot tea in perspective.

Of late I've been following "First World Pains" on Twitter and have been thoroughly amused at how it pokes fun at the very trivial things in the grand scheme of life that bother us here in the first world...the issues those living in the third world or the developing world could only hope to be bothered with...if they weren't too concerned with just trying to survive another day. It's all a matter of perspective.  Here's a selection of some of their recent tweets:

• I didn't get into Harvard, so now I have to go to Yale. 
• I just got back from vacation and I have 6 TV shows I need to catch up on.
• I forgot my head phones at home so now I can't listen to music while on the bus.
• There's never a good marshmallow to cereal ratio in my Lucky Charms.
• I just got a text message, but both my arms are so warm and comfortable under the blanket.
• My ice cream started to melt, so I had to eat it really fast.
• The new Sun Chips bag is too loud.
• I want to take a bath, but my only option is a stand up shower.
• I'm only six months into the payment of my car, but it doesn't represent me as a person anymore.
• I can't decide between the ribeye and the sirloin steak.
• I don't feel personally fulfilled by my college education.
• My state is spending tons of money to improve our roads so I have to drive through miles of construction every morning.
• The Netflix blurb was really descriptive and it gave away too much of the film.
• I've been laying down so long that my back is starting to hurt.
• Forgot about my muffins and they are about to expire. Had to eat 8 muffins in an hour.

I even found a kid doing a wrap about some of the various "pains" we have in the first world.




Let's face it. We are blessed to be in the first world...at least when it comes to material things.

All of my problems...well, they're pretty minor in the scheme of the world's issues.

And now my tea has cooled down enough to drink.  One less pain now.