Thursday, August 13, 2009

At a loss for words

We live our lives in bubbles.

We have our daily routines, be it work, school, or whatever. We tend to do certain things with our free time - hobbies, gaming, crafting, reading, watching TV, and the like. We usually frequent the same places or stay in the same area. Quite often, we even vacation to the same destinations or areas.

We see the same people over and over again, whether it's at church, the club, work/school, or it's just "that idiot in the red SUV" on the commute to our job. We engage in a lot of the same conversations:

"How are you?"
"Great! How are you?"
"Doing well. How's work?"
"Blah blah blah. How's your work?
"yak yak yak...."

And so on and so on.

We become very comfortable and (somewhat) content in our little bubbles. We know the challenges we face. We deal with the trials, pain, and triumphs that come our way. We are, for the most part, in control, and if we aren't, we're (somewhat) ok with it or are coming to grips with it.

Occasionally, our bubble will threaten to burst - the death of a loved one, sudden severe financial collapse, life changing physical debilitation, but even then, with time, we are able to adapt, overcome, and/or accept the "new" bubble. Giving up is just not an option (although there are some that take it anyways).

Yesterday, I had a little blip in my bubble; no, it wasn't catastrophic or even that remarkable, but it still caused the bubble to shimmer and waft around a little.

See, my credit card had two charges on it yesterday in....France. The CC company called me to alert me of possible fraudulent charges, and I confirmed them as such after making sure my wife didn't skip out between chemo patients for a Paris junket.

Of course, I'm tempted to write that I felt helpless. I didn't. I'm tempted to write that I was outraged. I'm not. In truth, I accepted it almost as soon as I heard it because I know what a sad, sad world we live our lives in.

For every one of us that earn an honest living, there seems to be 10 people who want to take that money from us via dishonest schemes. Be it the CC scammer, the corporate cheaters, the welfare do nothings, the Nigerian princes, or union thugs, it seems that everyone wants something for nothing.

And, the question that comes to mind is, "Why can't they just make an honest living?" It certainly isn't hard, and in most cases provides a boatload more security (and money) than a life of crime. I just don't understand.

I guess I don't really have a point to sum things up; I just wanted to put that out there.

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