First World Problems

After writing my post yesterday (where the poor stick fellow took one for the team because my hair dryer didn't work... R.I.P.), I realized that being frustrated by a hair dryer that doesn't work would be an absolutely preposterous idea to someone who has absolutely nothing.

"You mean you have a machine that blows your hair dry? Here we just call that the wind."

That's when I started really thinking about how ridiculous some of our "problems" are, did some searching and stumbled upon this tumblr site full of First World Problems. I am, of course, very likely the last person to have heard about this site to-date, but for me, this was a very timely finding.

I can't think of anything we have to complain about here in the Land of the Privileged that doesn't fall into this category. Every single problem we have here in the First World is a first world problem. Just in an effort to try and prove my very own self wrong (how's that for rhetorical arguing?), I tried to think of just ONE problem that wouldn't fit the description. Just one. It didn't work out so well. Here is the list I brainstormed:

• Commercials are irritating.
• My bills are due.
• My energy bill/phone bill/cable bill is too high.
• I have to wait an entire year for a cell phone upgrade.
• Jell-O doesn't set fast enough.
• My tap water tastes funny so I have to filter it or buy bottled water.
• They never have my favorite brand of {insert food product here} at the grocery.
• I only have 3 pairs of jeans that fit me properly.
• I can't dry my jeans... I have to hang them.
• They don't give me enough ice in my drinks at McDonald's.
• One of my peanut M&Ms had no peanut inside. :( (True story from 2001)
• I have to pay $28 per month for my dog to be groomed, and I don't even spend $28 per month on my own grooming.
• Waking up to an alarm clock sucks.
• My programmable coffee maker doesn't work properly. It brews coffee but not at the precise moment • I need it and without my assistance.
• It's hard to choose what to wear.
• My satellite goes out during bad weather.
• I don't get to take a vacation until I'm at my present job for a year.

For that matter, can you imagine anyone in a Third World country making the following statements in a restaurant?

"The next time they overcook my steak at Outback, I'm going to call the Better Business Bureau."
"There is far too much black pepper in this stew."
"This chicken is bland. Could you please take it back, throw it away, and have the chef cook something else for me?"

I challenge you to try it. It's a pretty difficult thing to come up with something that we complain about that wouldn't just fit right into this list. Of course, you could start bringing up things like illness and disease and things of this nature, but those are global problems. At least we have health care (or access to it... or something to that effect -- I'm looking at you, Obama).

And then give thanks for the life you have - with all of its minor grievances and annoyances. We definitely have it good.