My Political Post
Normally I try and avoid political conversations because usually stuff gets pretty out of control throwing around facts and statistics that are ridiculous going pretty far off the scale of reasonability. So being that it is innauguration day I figured I could write a somewhat political post of things that have happened over the past 4 years that I can personally say, and it can’t really be argued since it has all happened to me and no one else can really say otherwise.
As I sit here on MY couch in MY house watching the news on MY paper thin LED TV, I can’t help but sip on my caramel latté and reflect on the positive things that have happened. All the haters can say what they want, but I have absolutely 0 to complain about.
Let’s start from the beginning…going back to January 2008 when Obama takes over office. I graduated in December less than a month earlier. The economy is shit and I choose to make the move to California to pursue a career in finance of all things (remember this industry got hit the hardest). I lived with my buddy Chris in a condo at the beach, and will always be thankful for the opportunity even though it only lasted a few months. I had my resume sent out to hundreds of places, everyone was either on a hiring freeze or it was commission pay only. I settled for 2 different places to at least give it a shot and make something of it, but utimately it never worked out and I felt really shady for what I did at those places. So without any money coming in and not being able to live rent free forever, I moved back to AZ in May. No biggie…it was a blessing in disguise and I know that a national mess up can’t be fixed within a few months.
June rolls around, and my friend DeeAnna hooks me up with an interview with Go Daddy. It was a job with really good pay considering the economy and I love tech…perfect. I started a month later. As of this moment, I have been there 3 years, 6 months and 20 days and been promoted 3 times. I’ve won contests, gotten lots of bonus checks, and have a 401k that the company matches for me. On top of it, I only pay $20 towards insurance (heh due to my own mistake otherwise it’d be free, whoops) and get a pretty generous amount of vacation hours. My income has done nothing but go up each year, and thats with rising taxes and new bills to pay. I get that things the government does can affect everyone differently…and for some it may be negative…but its been nothing but positive for me.
Since I have such an amazing job, I was able to buy my own house. I’m a year and 2 months into it, got a great interest rate with it and got a lower price as a forclosure. I think I’d end up paying more living in an apartment. I started out this post saying MY MY MY MY and it really feels good to be able to say that. I’m currently doing my taxes right now and it is the first time I’ll be able to claim interest which I am super excited for. I even got some notices detailing the value of my house was increasing, and this is coming off from a housing market that took a huge hit. Again, I get that life affects everyone differently, but this one has turned out really good. Plus I have friends from high school that live right up the street which makes it even better.
Once you get a new house, you gotta fill it with stuff! I had stuff before moving in, but nothing that would fill any more than a bedroom. I’ve been able to save up a bunch of money from when I got really big bonus checks to get a couch, nice coffee makers, big TVs that are paper thin, new computers and iPads, tables and chairs, patio furniture, and kitchen appliances. I’m doing my part in helping the economy get back to normal right? You have to spend money to make that happen right? All that and I still have plenty to spare in savings accounts.
Gas prices went up a bunch, so I took advantage and got a turbo diesel that burns cleaner and goes further. There were some points where diesel was the same price, if not cheaper, than regular gas…especially in California when we road tripped there in the fall.
I also have an amazing girlfriend that I can share life with and buy her nice things too. After all you can’t really enjoy all the stuff if you don’t have anyone to love. We’ve gone on multiple vacations together and go out often and just enjoy ourselves.
This whole post isn’t meant to be egotistical or self centered by any means. I just hear a lot of blame from people towards the government and how life just isn’t that great. All of this has happened under the one guy in office and a congress that can’t get along and it is simply my argument with it. Today is the official day of the 2nd term and I’m interested to see what other good things are to come in the next 4 years. Times were tough to start obviously, but things got better. And I think once more people start realizing that and focus on the positive things will feel different.
To end this post, I quote The West Wing (which I’ve been watching a lot of lately): “What’s next…?”