Pages

Monday, September 8, 2008

It could be worse...

As you know, I've been having car problems lately. I took my car to my mechanic last week who fixed some stuff, but when I got it back it still wasn't running well. People kept throwing around the word "transmission" and you know what that means ($$$$). So with a heavy heart, I took it to the dealership today (if you own a Saturn, you have no other choice). A few hours later I got the good news: they could fix the part of the transmission that was broken for $1000. I was happy to hear this - not elated mind you - because that's still a lot of money, but I found myself feeling relieved and happy. Then I thought about how ironic it was that I was suddenly ok with spending over $1000 (including the money I paid to the mechanic last week). Of course, I was happy because I was very aware of how much it could have been, but still.

That got me thinking about how everything is relative. For example, gas prices. You know what I mean - we're happy when gas prices go down to $3.65. Then we get angry that we're happy about that because we all remember when a gallon of gas was less than $2.00. But we're happy about it anyway because it has been worse, and there's always the threat that it could go up again.

Thinking about this made me realize that there are some things I hope I am never ok with. Here are some things I hope I never happily say:
  • Thank goodness it's only Ebola!
  • I'm glad there are only two sharks circling me now.
  • Only eight more months till my full body cast comes off!
  • I'm pretty sure my hair will grow back.
  • I didn't like that car anyway.
  • At least rabies is curable.
  • Well, I still have six fingers!
  • Great news, the house is almost ghost free!
  • I'm pretty sure all the spiders are out of my hair!
  • In ten years I'll be allowed back in the country!
You know...making that list made me realize that things could always be worse. Suddenly my car problems don't seem so bad.

7 comments:

Katherine said...

How about, "At least my body's not rejecting the cow heart." Or, "Who needs toenails anyway?" Yeah, things really could be worse! Yay $1,000!! (I'm sort of kidding about that last part...)
P.S. Noce shark picture. My worst nightmare!! Or one of them, at least.

Katherine said...

Um, I meant "nice" shark picture.

alecia said...

Justin wants to know what the part for the transmission was? The part converter??

Anyway, sorry about the car and thank goodness it's NOT Ebola. Thanks for another laugh :)

Anonymous said...

ebola! now that's a way to go! liquifying into your sheets!

"What's this black sludge?"

"it's my heart...no wait, it's my liver...no wait, my spine."

Elizabeth Downie said...

Haha, those are good, Angela!

Alecia, tell Justin it was a busted valve (or something like that). I wrote it all down when the guy told me, then ran it past my dad to make sure they weren't tricking me. It's legit. But I can't remember all the details - I'm horrible like that!! lol.

Anonymous said...

What happened to the other four fingers?

I'm glad your car will be restored to its original grandeur. And really…it could be worse. What about pickle juice in the eye…that’s pretty bad!

Elizabeth Downie said...

I disagree, I'd rather have pickle juice in my eye than pay $1000 for a car repair! They're both bad though, and I wouldn't want to have to choose. This reminds me of a conversation I had with my friends at work the other day - we were discussing how much money it would take for us to be willing to eat giant spiders. lol

But you're right, it could be worse!