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Thursday, October 30, 2008

Mid-Week Mid-Life Crisis

I was feeling a bit depressed yesterday. I didn’t have the opportunity to apply my particular brand of catharsis — play Skillet’s Comatose album at high volume and let it all out — but I did take the time to try to figure out what I was trying to tell myself. In the end, it was something like I don’t want to be here… but I don’t want to go anywhere else in particular. Perhaps if I’d had a destination in mind, I might have told my boss to look for the three people they’ll need to replace me and acted on it. I don’t know, and now I’ve more or less gotten beyond it. Maybe I’m starting my mid-life crisis; I’ve been waiting for it to start. Unless embracing trance and other high-energy electronic music is it, and I kind of doubt it.

Another thought that bubbled to the surface was: “Even God Himself must struggle with false witness and willful ignorance” (and I might have that made into a bumper sticker). There’s some of the former and plenty of the latter on Planet Georgia at any time; both get an order of magnitude worse in an election year. If it wasn’t so maddening, it would be amusing how people can completely shut out facts when they conflict with one’s mindset, and embrace even the most transparent lie if it agrees. It gets tedious just having to be around it, let alone trying to combat it. I’ve taken to carrying the earbuds for my iPhone with me when I go to the in-laws’ place, because I know I’ll need them to shut out O’Liarly. But it batters at you… even if you don’t hear the lyrics, the oppressive beat continues to vibrate its way into your psyche. You can’t shut it out completely.

I’m hoping it will go away temporarily after election day. God willing, we’ll have government moving in a completely new direction. Of course, the pod people will crank up the false witness generator to maximum power and bombard us with ever more outlandish crap. I hate to accept that people actually believe the crap they forward around in email. That’s depressing in itself, and literally bearing (as in transporting) false witness.

Escaping into FAR Future has been a little difficult lately, perhaps because the mental atmosphere has been so oppressive, or maybe just because it’s crazy-busy October. At least I have the next 12 or 13 episodes written, and lately what I’ve been able to write freely has been the parts close to the end… but there’s another 12 or more episodes to come between what I’ve finished and the ending series of episodes. If I get into another good tear like I had last month, I could wrap the whole thing up in two or three weeks.

One nice thing that happened today: I got “boo’ed” at work. There’s been this thing going around: someone leaves a treat and a copy of this “Boo” poem at your desk when you’re not looking. You then make two copies, put together some kind of treat, and “boo” two other people (and tack up your copy so you don’t get repeat boos). I was kind of late in the week, the last one on my cube row, but some entire rows don’t have any boos at all… so I’ve got the stuff in the car where I won’t forget it tomorrow.

So that’s been my last couple of days. Could have been much worse. Could have been better (e.g., drinking on a warm beach somewhere).

10 comments:

  1. I promise to toast you when I get to that warm beach, Farf. Although my friends don't drink, so I might have to bring my own.

    Have you read Atlas Shrugged? I keep waiting for John Galt to come take me away from this insanity...I'll be sure to save a place for you on the Utopia bus....

    Hang in there.

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  2. That sucks, Far, and I totally empathize. Hang in there and let's raise a virtual toast to whatever.

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  3. I'll drink to that, Beth! Or would, if I was there with you. Glad to hear the sushi trip went well & gave you a chance to reclaim some of "your territory."

    Atlas Shrugged… yeah, I read it once. Rand's philosophy strikes me as a combination of the worst elements of communism & capitalism. The premise itself was absurd as well — I've seen what happens when the bosses disappear, things work better with them not there to micromanage. You get the idea I wasn't impressed? :-)

    Maria, a virtual toast sounds like just the thing. Skaal! I've found that beer at night tends to spike my blood pressure, though, so I'll probably cut myself off earlier from now on or stick with rum.

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  4. Hey FAR, sorry to hear that you are feeling a bit glum. Tonight I step away from this manic, Mundane world we live in. (Yes, I act like a kid and celebrate Halloween!!) I shall drink a toast to you on All Hallows Eve as all my ghoulishly great friends gather tonight to scare the mundanes. Mayhap we can all join in a little virtual toasting. We all need a bit of a pick-me-up every now and then.

    A Toast to Lord FAR!!

    Well, I am off to fly around on my broom for awhile. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

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  5. Hiya FAR.

    Sorry to hear you've been down lately, but those things come and go. I will say that my mid-life crisis wasn't that easy, but as you, I figured there was no place I wanted to go. I think what got me through was realizing there was nothing I could do. Just accept it and keep moving on.

    Hope the sunbeams break through for you and have a good weekend.

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  6. Thanks, Mrs. M. I get a grin imagining you flying around on a broom…

    FM, there's an advantage to being sort of immovable… you don't do anything really dumb on the spur of the moment. 'Course, you don't do anything fun on the spur of the moment either…

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  7. Things will get better for you, Far. Hang in there. I can't offer any advice about Planet Georgia but things might quiet down after Tuesday. My midlife crisis was helped soewhat by getting a used well known European make of car. ;-)

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  8. Hi Boran!

    Sure, things will get better. The question is, will they get better before I'm too old to enjoy it? If the chicken houses went away, that would help a lot.

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  9. ...please where can I buy a unicorn?

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  10. Hi Anon… kind of a random comment a year after the fact, but why not?

    I can't help you with a real unicorn, but you can fake one easily enough: horses are dirt-cheap these days; get a horse & super-glue a unicorn horn to its head. Get pictures.

    ReplyDelete

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