Fate worse than death!

Quotation of the day in yesterday's New York Times:

"It has been the hardest thing in my life. It has been harder than my divorce from my husband. It has really been even worse than the death of my mother."
-Ame Arlt

Holy tough economic times, batman! The absolute worst thing ever in her whole entire life! What could possibly have happened to this poor lady? Did she contract a debilitating disease? Did her children get kidnapped? No, she had to take an hourly wage job. That's it. Just a regular old job. I understand that going from a high-paying executive job to a less lucrative one is not a favorable change, but worse than the death of your mother? Really? If she had to choose between having her mother alive or having a better job, she'd choose the job? That settles it. Hourly wage jobs are, indeed, worse than death.

I looked up her mother's obitiuary. Mom died of cancer several years ago. Well, at least she never had to experience the heart-wrenching despair of the non-salaried workplace. I mean, she got off pretty easy, when you think about it. Cancer is probably like a fucking picnic compared to an hourly wage job. Except for the part where there's no picnic, and then you die.

The article mentions that this woman also used to have a tack store and equestrian magazine, which explains a lot. I know this woman. I used to work at a fancy dressage stable that was full of them. Like the one who had to import her new horse from Sweden, because Lord knows there weren't any decent horses in THIS country. Like the one who bought a $30,000 show horse for her pre-pubescent daughter, because little Betty Lou would be so upset if she didn't win ribbons at all the shows. There is still a review of Ms. Arlt's now-closed tack store online; the user describes it as having "Snooty staff, high prices, zero customer service." She says that the staff appeared to be annoyed at a commoner breathing their air.

Maybe there is justice in the world after all (but I'm still waiting for my ex to get hit by a bus before I will say I believe in karma).