Points of interest:

Money might not bring happiness, but it certainly helps. As I continue to find myself in work situations where I am exposed to people with a vast amount of wealth, I struggle. Suddenly, I start to want the fancy comforts of life, like first class plane travel to far off destinations and sushi dinners. Let’s not even bring up my disgusting addiction to high end labels and fancy shoes. Coming from a very decent middle class upbringing it’s not like I was subjected to the harshness of poverty–therefore giving me the unrealistic passion of immediate wealth. You won’t find me embarrassing myself at an American Idol audition with my poor teeth and hoochy top in the hopes of getting a ticket out of my small town. I fully understand the need to work hard in order to get a bite out of the American pie.

But what happens when you work hard and yet the pie never rewards you? Some folks are just lucky…meaning they invented something at the right time, met the people and made the correct connections, or perhaps even succeeded on sheer talent. I understand that there are a million really fabulous actors out there who go unrecognized, and it was luck that placed Leonardo Dicaprio at the top of the Titanic casting call. (I hate that movie, but it’s true it launched his career).

When I was 20 I ate nothing but bean burritos and yogurt. I had cold cereal for dinner. I packed my lunch every day and ate it at the library at the UW campus while reading periodicals about fashion. I went out on dates for the free dinner, (I know, that’s terrible to admit…if it helps, I didn’t really go out on that many dates). I felt like I would never need anything material, just adventure and experience. My end table was a cardboard box with a bedspread over it.

When I was 23 I saved up money so I could go to Europe. It was all about gaining experiences, right? So, of course a solo trip to Italy was in order. The time came to plan my trip and my car broke down. I had to either replace the car or go to Europe. I knew I had to buy a car in order to make money so the trip was pushed aside. I’m still saving.

I work with a girl who is infinitely unhappy. She called up a client to request more information regarding a birthday party. The woman said, “I wouldn’t have a birthday there even if hell froze over.” She then ranted and raved about how much she hated our business establishment without applying the usual, ‘if you have nothing nice to say, don’t say it at all.’ In fact, she went as far as to say, “If your business is trying to cater to upper middle class people like myself, you’re not succeeding.” When I was retold this I was shocked: Who uses the word upper middle class in conversation? Or during an outburst? Really, how could she be so crass?