Happy (or should that be lucky?) Friday the 13th!

Morning, readers

And happy Friday the 13th! *cue eerie music*

But don’t worry, there’s no reason to hide under the covers and lay trembling in fear until the Day of Bad Luck is finally over.

It’s not like a psychotic serial killer is going to spontaneously appear out of nowhere at the exact location you find yourself and start picking you & those around you off one-by-one until someone miraculously comes up with a ‘plan’ to save the day… with said person  being the sole survivor… and all of this only happening at night (I’d argue that the last man standing was the killer to begin with, but oh well…) See – nothing to worry about! *shifts uncomfortably in seat*

Have you ever taken the time to think about how utterly silly superstitions are?

Many superstitions we hear or read about today are rooted in mythology or came into existence because something bad happened to someone and they needed to find an explanation/scape-goat/excuse for it – no matter how ridiculous it might sound. The word ‘superstition’ means stand(ing) over, perhaps in awe of or as the survivor/witness of something. It is “a notion maintained despite evidence to the contrary” (not everyone who comes across a black cat, cuts their nails/hair, walks under a ladder, etc.  on Friday the 13th has bad luck…and what is luck anyway but another sort of superstition?); “a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation.”

So sure, let’s all blame our problems on Friday the 13th. Anything unfortunate that happens to you before then can be explained as a build-up to the actual day… and then, depending on the amount of misfortune, you could argue that you had suffered enough and that’s why you were ‘spared’ any misfortune on the day itself *roll eyes*

Anyone else hearing how ridiculous this sounds?

 

 

Okay, another example: If there are thirteen letters in your name, you will have ‘the devil’s luck’. Really? Isn’t this just people/society trying to find a reason why some people do terrible things? Like Jack the Ripper (not even a real name), Charles Manson & Theodore Bundy? [Notice how all of them are men? And even if the same applies to women, would that be with their maiden name or does your married name, i.e. surname change, count?] Why can’t people accept that there are truly horrible people in the world who make their own sick decisions and that they cannot blame an invisible force (like the devil, who not everyone believes in) so that they at least feel better about mankind?

Anyway, let’s not get into the whole ‘God needs the Devil to prove that he is good’ PARADISE LOST discussion. The fact of the matter is, anything can be bad if you make a point of believing that it really is. Watch THE NUMBER 23. Or start believing that not colour-coordinating your wardrobe and organizing your drawers will lead to unspeakable things *cue eerie music again*

Enough rambling for one morning. Let’s all go hug a black cat, not care about stepping on cracks in the sidewalk, and only feel anxious about the long, nearly impossible to pronounce names for the fear of Friday the 13th: friggatriskaidekaphobia and paraskevidekatriaphobia.

And if you stillwant to go ahead and feel superstitious, I can only quote THE HUNGER GAMES and say: “May the odds be ever in your favour.”

I’m too busy thinking of… other things… to come up with a better title

My dearest blog readers!

I trust that most of you are back at work already (if you’re not, enjoy it while it lasts…)

I started working again last Thursday (I’ll admit that I checked & responded to e-mails a few days in advance, obsessive-compulsive and all that), and so far, things are… well… crazy. That’s as good a word as any.

I’m not entirely sure if that’s crazy in a good or bad way, sometimes it’s actually both, but it is kuh-raaaaay-zee nonetheless.

As ever, I have many figurative face-palm moments when dealing with people who come across as incompetent, stupid, petulant… the list goes on and on. You try staying all helpful and happy while explaining to someone how to find and apply styles in Word, saying the same things over and over and over again – perhaps there is something to that old saying that patience is a virtue!!

It’s all right, though. I manage to stay very calm during the day, addressing problems as they arise (the ‘joys’ *cough* of Project Management) and working for (more than) my money’s worth. Then I get home after a long day and prepare supper – some ‘quiet time’ while my Significant Other is busy working… a good time for contemplation…

Those 50s housewives had the right idea

Yip, nothing nicer than taking your aggression out on whatever you’re busy whisking/ stirring/ whatever and finding your centre as you think about the things you’d like to say to other people (or, yes, the murder you want to commit – we’re all mad here…) A kitchen is as good a place for thoughts of malice as any, don’t you think? I’ll start brewing a storm in a teacup and see where things go from there…

So if you see me on an extremely crazy-busy day, and I’m calm & ‘relaxed’ & smiling (vacant, borderline-psychotic expression optional), you know what I’ll be thinking of that night!

[That’s probably also why I enjoy baking and have taken many treats to the office – a sort of, “here you go, enjoy, I imagined your face as I was beating those g*ddamn eggs into what could possibly be termed a stupor”, the grin never leaving my face… If I ever take the time to bake you some treats, you’ll have to decide what my intentions were for yourself.]

R&R in retrospect

Hullo again, dearest blog readers

I hope all of you have been just dandy – I’m ‘back’ after having a four-day weekend (which I optimistically have called a mini ‘vacation’… spent at the apartment) and I am not looking forward to going back to work.

Why?
Because I spent a good part of my time off thinking about work… and, yesterday,  my own stupidity… because apparently I didn’t fill in a courier form correctly (gonna’ blame it on the migraine I had on Friday) and processes at work have been delayed because of it. Aren’t I just going to feel like what the cat covered up in the litter box when I have to report to my manager…

So much for no worries.

In retrospect, I cannot really say that I feel rested after this extended period of repose. I feel tired. My headaches are worse. I feel listless… I was actually bored yesterday and today… blah, blah, et cetera.

But hey – that’s life.

I’m sure these few days have done me some good, otherwise I would have been working straight through until the end of December without having a breather (not that two leave days really count as being away from work for a sufficient amount of time so as to actually feel a bit more relaxed and less worried, but oh well). I saw my parents, I read a few books, I baked, I cleaned, I took lots of pictures of Smudgy… what more could a girl want? It’s like I said in my last blog post: “As long as I’m able to stay in bed if I want to, read a lot, and be with my Significant Other (and Smudgy!!), my time off from work will be worth it.”

Here are a few pictures showcasing my period of R&R. At least I got in a lot of sleep!

On Saturday, my Significant Other and I bought some materials at Spiro's so we could make a mosaic. I think it turned out pretty well.

Then we spent the evening watching X-MEN: FIRST CLASS

On Sunday we went to see my parents, had a late lunch at Mugg&Bean, and then I had some 'chill time' with Smudgy -- my S.O. spent the evening playing games

Lunch at Caffé Rossini on Monday; I had pastrami & avo on rye

Isn't she cute?? Smudgy spent most of her time with me while I was reading... she was lying around, sleeping

My S.O. and I played some good ol' video games 🙂

Monday at midnight (thus technically Tuesday): Smudgy in her new favourite spot -- the cooler bag!

Tuesday lunch at Pete's Diner - I had bacon, egg & cheese on rye. Not the best sandwich I've ever had.

To stave off boredom (if only for a short while), I baked a carrot cake. Nothing fancy, but it tastes nice

To bring my mini vacation to a (bitter)sweet ending, I bought us some mini cheesecakes for tonight. The choc chip one is for my S.O., of course 😉

I also took the time to read the CHAOS WALKING trilogy by Patrick Ness. They're quite lengthy, but thoroughly enjoyable! If you liked THE HUNGER GAMES trilogy, you're sure to like these books!