Wow:

I felt so stereotypically American today...driving past the Las Vegas Strip in my SUV, the heater on but the windows down, eating my sausage Egg McMuffin, drinking my Starbucks venti mocha-latte with double shot of espresso, listening to my iPod while on my cell phone at 05h00. Sometimes I really enjoy the "gimme-gimme", immediate gratification, affluent American lifestyle. Should I feel guilty?

Sometimes I do; I certainly don't know extreme, abject poverty, but I remember the days when I had to work out the math to see if I could afford $6 cough syrup or if I could afford the gasoline it would take just to get to work. I remember 10-cent ramen packages and duct tape on the inside of my Converse just so they'd last longer. I make sure I remember because I don't want to get too "comfortable" in life. I mean, I donate to reputable, established charities, not so much out of guilt but because I feel so blessed, and I want to share in what I've been given. It's only fair, really.

So basically, what I'm saying is that yeah, I feel guilty in a way that I have the ability and fortune to life in this manner, but I like that America offers the choice. Does that make sense?

Not only that, but our jobsite was rained out today, no power, so we got the choice to take our checks and go. Red Rock still had mine (even though I was transfered a week ago!), and I can wait till Monday, so I decided to finish my nerve test so I didn't have to take any more time off work for it. I can get my check Monday, no problem. Again, fortunate.