Tuesday evening ramble: my first-world problems, an update

While we're waiting for election results to come in, I thought I'd update you on my glorious first world problems. And they are glorious--especially those that are resolved, like the Bose miles.

I've been meaning to ramble about something similar for a while, but how quickly and effectively Bose took care of the issue really brought home this point: Bose is a high-end company that doesn't f* around with its customers. F*ing around with its customers is not worth it. AAdvantage has a lot to learn from Bose in the way of addressing customer inquiries and complaints.

But I also wanted to ramble about an interesting 'unintended consequence' of my having bought the Bose, whether or not I got the miles for it (though, as I'd written here, I probably wouldn't have splurged on the Bose had I not had miles to save... but I'm glad I did). When you air-travel a fair amount, quality noise-cancelling headphones are a necessity rather than a luxury. For years, I'd been traveling with Panasonics, which are supposed to be as good, but  my Panasonics have been on the fritz, and the Bose are better, anyway (and take up less space). But since I have these Panasonics that I no longer really care about, I thought I'd use them on my commute. I wouldn't use the Bose on my commute (are you kidding? $300 headphones on the Metro??), and speaking of Metro, really?? Daylight Savings Time is beyond your logistical capabilities? Really?? But I digress. As I was saying, I've been wearing the Panasonics on Metro, and it's been amazing. The noise reduction is significant and noticeable, to the extent that I realize I've forgotten to put them on when I hear shrill Metro noises. I'll wear them to the office, too--just a five-minute walk from the Metro, but lots of loud trucks on the way. Numbing so much of this noise has really made a difference. I'm probably calmer.

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Now, let's see... my other lingering, protracted bureaucratic battle--the one with the dentist who pulled my wisdom teeth--has been resolved. The dentist got all the payments from my insurance, and, at my request, refunded (most of) what I paid. In the end, after both sets of insurance did their thing, I ended up paying $180, which is more than reasonable for a job very well done. I love not having wisdom teeth, and I love that the sockets that previously held the wisdom teeth have healed just fine.

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The unresolved first-world problem: none of my pants fit, and it's hard to find pants that do fit. Banana Republic's 0s are noticeably baggy on me; 00 petites are about right, but they're hard to come by. My dresses are mostly not suitable for cold weather.

A friend and I were discussing this at the gym the other day: she's also small, she's also been sized out by vanity sizing. And neither of us is emaciated: we're both quite muscular. If we're 00 petite, what the hell do emaciated people do for clothing?

Funny, when I said to her, "...and I'm not emaciated," she said, "but you're a woman," as if to say it was okay to not be emaciated--as if I were apologizing. I'm not criticizing her for her social impulse; I'm merely noting the impulse to reassure a woman that it's okay to have flesh on her bones. The truth is, I have no aspirations to be emaciated; this is why I keep ranting against the idea that rail-thin models 'cause' eating disorders. The existence of very thin people, alone, does not make people engage in unhealthy behavior or even unhealthy thinking. When I see very, very thin people, I by no means think, "I want to look like that." More power to them if that's their natural body type, and for some it is. But I was just watching the video for Beth Orton's "Concrete Sky"--and I love Beth Orton, and I love "Concrete Sky," but I just think, 'I wouldn't want to look like that.'


I'd also run into this particular (work) friend the day before, on the way out of the office. She was about to break up with a guy she'd been seeing, and she had a plan, according to what she'd read in a book: guys are data-driven, and you have to talk to them like you'd approach a logical argument--for example, "you wouldn't invest in down-trending markets, so why would I want to stay in a relationship where all the indicators look pretty bad?" I didn't ask her how that had worked out for her.

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I felt like an @$$hole again today because I was telling people that there's nothing to do out by the Eiffel Tower, i.e., if you're going to stay in Paris, don't stay there. What can I say? I know Paris. I sometimes find myself saying, "the last time I was in Paris..." and I can't help it if it sounds douchey, it's just true. Besides, isn't Lyubljana the new Paris? It I were trying to go for status, I'd start saying, "last time I was in Lyubljana..." That, and I haven't been to Paris in over twelve years. Thinking about it makes my heart hurt, because that city is such a part of my soul.

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The overall first-world "problem" is that I've been crazy busy at work. It's been exhausting, which is fine--always, because I always know I'm blessed to be employed--but the sense of blessing has been even more intense: the work is so fascinating that I'm constantly struck by the sense of "this is awesome, I can't believe I get paid for this." And there's the whole working with really great people thing. And generally being constantly amazed at the caliber of people in my life. That, thankfully, is not uniquely a first-world problem.