@justinmeyer
Well there are other widgets on the page that periodically poll the server for updates. Wouldn't that affect checking the number of AJAX requests that need to be complete in order to remove the "loading" message?
I do like the idea though.
But what about a widget that once loaded will poll and when it polls, I want to put it in a "not ready" state until it is done updating.
Like I said, I make no claims that this architecture is best, but it is one that I have come up with and adopted during my last few years of learning and "needing something that satisfied my needs".