Check your ego at the door

We're all guilty on occasion of being a little self-absorbed. When someone is having a bad day, it is understandable that they may want to focus on themselves a bit in order to put themselves in a good mood. However, some people are in that mindset perpetually. Their drive in life is what can they do to make themselves better than they already feel, even if they feel like life can't really get much better. Such a drive can be beneficial because it can lead to a great accumulation of wealth and material goods. However, the real question is at what cost can such a drive be maintained? That's the tragedy of it all. Such a person risks alienating everyone because their mind is so "me, me, me" that there's no room for any thoughts about anyone else. Just look at Scrooge in "A Christmas Carol." He once had a fiancée, but he was so miserable with his lot in life at that moment in time that he lost her because he didn't give a damn about her. Last night I had a drink with a friend in a neighborhood that I am entirely unfamiliar with in a city that I was visiting for the third time in my life. He was in such a rush to get to leave and go home, only to get to bed even though he wasn't tired, that he failed to even ask if I was alright to get back to where I was staying on my own (this is the first trip that I've stayed at this location) or to wait until I was leaving (I hadn't even finished my drink) to at least point me in the right direction. It was as if he didn't care if I ended up being raped or wandering in the neighborhood of the bar until all hours, just so long as his wants were met. Treatment like that after I had essentially spent the evening, the last evening of my trip, trying to cheer him up because he was all doom and gloom about his future job prospects (which I understand because I've been feeling like that myself lately). Needless to say, friends like that aren't worth keeping around, especially when I've babysat him when he was drunk in a city that neither of us were entirely familiar with, making sure that he got back to his place in that city okay and whatnot. I am so glad that I'm not like that. Because if you have no friends since you've driven them all away with your miserable selfishness, how will you ever feel loved and who the hell will be there when you need help? You'll never be happy.

On another note, I hope this guy's offer is still good in 1.5 years: http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/m4w/2070415887.html