Killing Time

It's half past midnight and I'm waiting for one am so I can call customer service for our payroll service in the UK.  It's the UK version of the payroll service we use for our US payroll, except US customer service runs 24 hours.  The UK people are usually more polite and helpful, though, so there's tradeoff to the convenience of being able to call any time.  I think I prefer having to stay up into what is the middle of the night for me so I can speak with a courteous person over being able to call a surly person any time.

Less than 50 miles south of me a fire raged today, burning 3,000 acres.  When things like this happen, I remember to be grateful for my health, family and friends.  I'm even grateful to be fortunate enough to have mementos and possessions that are safe and sound, but at the same time I'm reminded that when it's all said and done, the relationships and bonds I form with others are much more important than clinging to material items.