Deserving? And a hiatus

Over the past few weeks, I've begun watching TV more regularly, after having gone several months, since the end of last year's Olympics, when I'd hardly watched any at all. I'm not watching all day, every day, by any means - I'm very much an advocate of the philosophy of 'if there's nothing I consider interesting on, switch it off' - but I've probably been averaging three hours or so a day. And that, needless to say, means that I've seen quite a few adverts, given that I don't exclusively watch BBC channels. For the most part, the adverts pretty much wash over me (apart from the ones where a cutie or two can be glimpsed!), but one that I've seen over the past couple of days has got under my skin, in the sense of annoyance, more than usual. It's an advert for a website specialising in upmarket property, showing views of an opulent beachfront apartment. It's the voiceover, though, that's rubbed me up the wrong way, going on, as it does, about the prospective owner of such a property, and thus customer of the website, 'deserving' such a place for all their efforts and sacrifices in 'building your business', of which working at weekends was quoted as an example. Well, I've worked my arse off for nearly 35 years, including innumerable weekends - I would guess at an average of 40 a year over the whole 35 years - and I've ended up with absolutely sod all, living in a small rented room and owning next to nothing. Why am I less deserving of having somewhere nice to live? Yes, I'll admit to having made many a mistake in my life, but to hear the suggestion that 'business' people get what they deserve for their efforts, while the rest of us have to put up with whatever crumbs fall our way, is galling, to say the least.
I've spent several hours this morning effectively incommunicado, because of a problem with the network of the company that is both my mobile broadband and phone provider. I'm back on the air now, self-evidently, but to be cut off from the rest of the world in the current 'always on' society has been a bit of an odd experience. Fifteen years or so ago, I wouldn't even have given it a second thought, but I guess it's an indication of how integral a part the internet plays in my life now that it should be worthy of comment, even though it didn't cause me any direct inconvenience - I've readily enough found other things to occupy my time instead. The only problem that might have arisen would have been if there had been an emergency of some kind, because I don't even know where the nearest payphone is (at the station, probably), or if someone, most notably my daughter, I suppose, had needed to contact me. It's like many aspects of modern life - you take it for granted until it's not there, but when it isn't, it makes you appreciate its significance.

Love & best wishes to all
Sammy B