Bummer

Well . . .

I hate to say it. I really do. It hasn't even been 20 days. I was trying, really trying, to make it one of my New Year's goals not to complain. And when I caught myself starting to complain, I would rephrase it in a way that wasn't complaining. However, I think this goal is a bit unrealistic for me. I will still try to work on it and complain less, but there are a couple of things I'm pretty bummed about. And they deserve a tiny complaint. Here it is.

Why is it that when one crappy thing happens, another one does too?

1. Cory dropped our digital camera over October break. It still works, but has to be fixed because the LCD screen doesn't come on. The good thing is that we have found a reputable Canon shop here in Manila that can fix it. We shall see if that is true in the next 14 days.

2. Our Apple Macbook, the first laptop we've ever owned, and the one we've loved, used and abused, finally had enough. The really crappy part is that we were discussing how we needed to transfer all of our files over to an external hard drive and/or to our new iMac. We were literally just in the process of doing so when our laptop decided to take its last breath. The hard drive is completely useless. Our photos are gone. Our documents are gone. Our music is gone. And all of our piddly reminders for birthdays, anniversaries and addresses are gone. The good thing is that we can have the laptop sent away for someone to take out the hard drive and hopefully retrieve some of these things. The bad news is that it will cost us a pretty penny: about $500. We shall see what transpires in the next 14 days.

3. Our Manila vehicle needs new tires. And a new fan belt. And an overall complete tune-up. More money. In the next 14 days.

Those are the big three. There are more, but I will spare you those and lessen my complaint load.

BUT . . .

And this is a big but . . .

We are healthy. We are relatively happy. :) And we have enough money in the bank to take care of all these things and then some. (I'm just such a tight wad at times. I hate taking out money from one envelope that was designated for something else for something that weren't expecting to pay for. And that's me being anal.)

Most importantly, we will be just fine. These are small hurdles, despite them, in the moment, being big. As I get older though, I become more and more proud of myself for my ability not to anger or cry immediately upon hearing such "tragic" news. In the end, we will get over it and these minor setbacks are PEANUTS in comparison with issues other families deal with on a daily basis.

In fact, we visited our helper, Delia's, house for the first time since the typhoon. We had given her money to move to a safer area, on a higher level. Four people (Delia, her daughter, her daughter's husband and their 7-month old son) share a one-bedroom flat consisting of that one bedroom, a small sitting room with a kitchenette and a CR (comfort room). And they are just fine. Dels was so proud to show us where she lived. Puts things into perspective. And I LOVE being put into perspective.

So while complaining is not such a good thing for the soul, it helps to get it out sometimes and then focus on the positive steps that can be taken to overcome the crappy things. End of complaint entry. And hopefully, for a long time to come.