Good health, job with reasonable but not spectacular salary, comfortable house in a good neighborhood, get to horse around doing sound for a local band, plenty of other stuff to do if I want to do it, can get away with slacking off a bit if I don’t.
Minuses:
Getting a bit creaky and out of shape, too much debt, only a few friends and I don’t see them much, most of the family I grew up with is dead, and those that aren’t seem to have developed serious behavioral problems, a bit lonely (but honestly at this point I’d feel rather trapped if in a serious relationship anyway).
Summary:
I can’t complain but sometimes I still do; life’s been good to me so far.
Because they don’t live in Afghanistan or the Sudan? Especially as a woman, I am so incredibly, fantastically lucky to live in the 21st century in a first world country. It’s hard for me to forget that.
Exactly - unless I end up destitute and/or in prison my life in the 1st world is never going to suck as badly as a lot of people’s do in the 3rd world.
Ups: Fiance, bird, decent apartment, and I have enough money for groceries and rent. I’m doing well in school, graduating next year, pretty healthy, and have a bright future.
Downs: Miserable part-time job (only one right now, but it’s usually 2, with a cumulative 50ish hours a week) with truly pathetic paycheck, Fiance is severely underpayed but works full-time in a decent job. I have a lot of school-related stress and no leads on a real job yet, but probably going to grad school. I am very much the black sheep in my family, despite my being the most educated member (and I’m paying for it myself). I’m not very happy right now, but the idea is that I will be very happy in a few years.
I think because some of those are relatively superficial things.
And it’s kind of what I was hinting at in my post. Yes, in terms of my own self-centered personal goals in life, hating my crappy-ass job brings my score down a lot. On the other hand, there are a lot worse jobs out there. I mean I’m not sweeping streets for minimum wage or anything like that.
On the plus side:
After two years of unhappiness (after losing my dream job, my dream home, and a genuinely idyllic existence to war, which plunged me into a very deep depression), I am again living where I want to live, in a fantastic job.
I have a great marriage and a great daughter.
I am financially very comfortable, and put tons of money into savings each year.
I will get to do a lot of traveling again, now that I’m in a good job in a good location.
Minuses:
I am too fat, which is all the more galling since I used to be very athletic (a sorrow’s crown of sorrows, and all that).
I have semi-frequent migraines, which get more frequent, more severe, and more treatment-resistant as I get older (and I’m only 36 now).
My stepmother is an evil, manipulative, back-stabbing bitch, and if there were any justice in this world, she would be dead instead of my mother. Okay, not dead; that’s too harsh. Just…somewhere else.
Goodies: Supportive hub-oid, 2 good kids, a job which I love, a new home, 2 vehicles, our health, both sets of parents nearby, love the little town we live in…
Bad’uns: smoking cessation needs to occur in my life, savings looking pretty bleak at this time, I have an issue with painkillers… yeah, I need to straighten up a few things in the mental health department.