First World Problems

Today I was in Washington, D.C. for business this same day our President Elect, Obama was scheduled to receive his first official tour of the White House and sit-down with President Bush. While I was hoping to have a serendipitous First Run In with our new First Man, what I got instead was a very gracious tour of some of the more recognizable monuments and Federal buildings by my cab driver. We drove by the National Treasury that I regarded with both anger and awe. The cabbie who I think may have been from Africa commented, “That’s where they print money.”

I’ve noticed that the media still alludes to the current recession like it’s not official, almost in an effort to keep the idea of an ensuing depression at bay. Well folks, I officially declare our country in a state of recession with a side order of economic depression.

This is the first time in my lifetime (other than post 9/11) when I’ve witnessed widespread unemployment. This is the first time that single friends were canceling vacation plans and snapping up invitations to dine in. These are not coupled friends looking to save money for a wedding or marrieds looking to build a down payment on a house (HA!) These are single friends who have (or had) prosperous jobs with big salaries and deep savings.

The cover story of New York Magazine’s November 10 issue boldly gave folks on The Rock permission to LIVE WELL, SPEND LESS! My heart leapt and wept as this is a major tenet of DONE DOT COM and they tried to pass it off as an original idea! Well my dear readers, YOU didn’t settle for sloppy seconds, did you?! You’ve been reading DONE DOT COM all along!

Newsweek’s November 10 issue actually acknowledged the recession on it’s cover in the subhead for its main story called, The Future of Affluence, saying ‘The Recession Will End, But Our Real Problems Are Just Beginning.’ Frankly, the article is a rehash of the doom and gloom forecast we’ve been hearing from all the other pundits about the energy, healthcare and economic crises BUT it does briefly discuss in one paragraph boom psychology and how ‘luxuries’ become ‘necessities.’ Cell phones are accused. Hmm? How about Ventes? Netflix. Cable. DVR. Cabs. General Tso’s Chicken and the polar opposite, designer liquid fasts. That list could go on.

I attended a yoga workshop this weekend where the instructor who is also trained in psychology introduced the concept that advanced poses are distinguished not only for being physically demanding but also more demanding on the ego. Apparently America has an ego that is directly tied to economic growth and the current situation is a hard blow to it with an uncertain prognosis for how it will recover.

One night this past summer, before the recession rock bottom, I was out for drinks with some friends when we were discussing that feeling of overeating to the point of gut busting gluttony but somehow are still able to think about, with eagerness, our next meal. One of my friends chimed in to say that was what she called a ‘First World Problem.’ Things we find ourselves complaining about or cause us a furrowed brow without a second humbling thought to...reality. While DONE DOT COM may seem like a First World aspiration, it actually, in its purest form, is the opposite. Qualifying challenges of daily life or ‘wants’ versus ‘needs’ as First World or ‘real’ is a great way of gaining and keeping perspective. Folks in relationships, this can be described as picking your battles: what really matters to you when it comes to your mate?

When I started DONE DOT COM, I also was taking it as a forum to chronicle my experience training for the New York Marathon. It’s now just over a week since I completed the race. I trained for over four months, which in retrospect, baffles me that I took it so seriously. I ran faster than I expected and I realized at mile 21 that if I ran just a little bit faster, I could’ve blown my own projections away. That perspective is definitely First World.

Screw that noise! I think I will go look at my medal again.