I Need Sheep!
Posted on: June 3, 2013
I need sheep! Lots of sheep. An uncountable number of sheep.
Is there even such a thing as an uncountable number? The concept is too complicated for me to ponder upon after a sleepless night, but I would like to launch an appeal: would my readers kindly send me a few sheep? Now, I don’t have an uncountable number of readers, but I do have a few, and if each of them sent me one sheep, I think I would have more than enough.
You might wonder what I want to do with all the sheep, and the answer is, I want to count them of course, duh! With two chairs and a broom I have already built a little fence at the foot of my bed, that the helpful creatures can jump to their hearts delight.
They will be the fittest sheep ever, because I can’t sleep very well these days – make it weeks – actually, make it months; it seems like I can sleep soundly only on my bench, but that’s 20 km away from my flat, plus has been unreachable all winter long because of the snow and it’s currently underwater because of the floods, so I can’t really depend on that.
I have also tried all the natural remedies I could find, including no caffeine in the afternoon (hello zombie!) , long hot baths before bed (managed to faint but not to sleep), herbal pills (repeat as a mantra “this smells like ripe cheese, NOT like unwashed feet”), no arguing with my bed partner (Mr. Pillow was very understanding), but nothing. So I am going for the ultimate remedy: counting sheep!
The sheep need to be as non-descript as possible, so if my insomnia proves an especially hard nut to crack, I can put them on rotation and it will work better if I can’t tell one from the other. So just your basic, fluffy, white sheep, I hope you can spare one or two?
Also I would like them to be a cheerful bunch – err – flock, because, did you know? Sheep can get depression, too. It usually happens when they lose a lamb, the poor things – the Internet is full of sad stories of mothers grieving and not eating, and stinking (I guess it makes sense – depression stinks), and losing all their wool.
However, I know very well that depression can strike with no warning, and I’m not one to abandon a companion only because she’s not funny anymore, so I have done some pre-emptive research, and luckily I have discovered that if one of my previously cheerful sheep falls pray to depression there is a cure.
According to a forum I visited, the somewhat surprising remedy consists in clothing the mournfully bleating and now naked sheep in a green polo neck jumper. The reason why the colour must be green is pretty straightforward: green is the colour of mental health awareness. But the polo neck is a matter of some debate. You could argue that this is a nod to the Marco Polo sheep breed, a species that lives wild and in the mountains of central Asia and that boasts the longest horns of any breed of sheep, probably making its representatives an object of admiration among sheepfolk and thus a source of inspiration for the depressed sheep; or that it is a reminder of the peculiar Kyrgyz version of horse polo, kok-boru, which consists in using, instead of a ball, the headless body of a sheep.
Here I guess that the idea is reminding the depressed sheep that there are sheep who have it waaay worse than her. Don’t we all get that? How many helpful people come to those who have depression and argue: “How can you be sad? So-and-So has cancer!”
Euh… yes, thank you, Helpful Person, and that should make me ecstatic, I guess. I was never sure why I should rejoice at the misfortune of others, probably something along the lines of “better her than me”???
But back to the sheep. Could you ship me a sheep (that’s terrible, I know – but have I mentioned that I was up all night?)? Pretty please? With sugar on top?
Spelling Matters!
Posted on: May 28, 2013
s273.photobucket.com/user/rockygirlcat/
Last night something momentous happened. The BT was online in the dead of the night and I thought that maybe he was feeling lonely, too, or at any rate he would be very tired and unable to think too clearly, so I thought there might be a slight chance that he would reply to a goodnight star. Also because he knows that I send a goodnight star only right before logging off and going to bed, so there’s no risk of me jumping on the chance to – the horror!! – ask him how he is doing or even suggest coffee. He seems to have decided that my allowance is exactly one word a month, and replying to a goodnight is probably the safest option for him, so I thought I might tempt fate.
I gathered my nerves, which were lying haphazardly on the floor (a couple had rolled under the furniture and it was a drag to get them out, but in the process I found a bracelet I thought I had lost and also, surprisingly, a teapot), then tied them up nicely with a ribbon, conjured a little star in the chat window, took a deep breath, took another deep breath, took a third deep breath, told myself to stop taking first, and second, and third deep breaths or I would go into hyperventilation, and hit “send”.
For a split second, Time Stood Still. Then Time thought, “What am I doing here, standing still”? She blushed and with a little embarrassed smile she checked if anybody had seen her standing still so foolishly, and hurriedly sat down.
AND THE BT REPLIED!!!
He said… he said… “good night!”
* sighs contentedly *
And yet – darn. Good. Night. Two words!!! And since I’m only due one word a month… there goes my allowance for TWO WHOLE MONTHS! Now I’ll have to make do until the 28th of JULY!
Stupid Blasted Thing, it is GOODNIGHT! One. Word.
Grrrrrrr.
.
A serious post for a change – because some kind souls have bestowed me with a Versatile Blogger Award and I felt my blog wasn’t really versatile enough to justify that – so I versatilised it! I used to like cooking when I was still alive, so I chose to do recipes.
I hope I don’t win any weird blogger award next, like the Irish Blogger Award which would compel me to become Irish – although admittedly that would be gas.
I am not a nutritionist, but I have done some research, plus it’s not like I was advising people to eat some weird diet consisting entirely of ugli fruit: just common sense, really. And no, of course you can’t snap out of depression just by eating the right food: but a post needs a catchy title and Ideas for Meals That Are Supposed To Help With Depression, But Don’t Expect Miracles just didn’t have the right ring to it.
So, I have been doing some reading and I have found out that a decrease or increase of appetite is a common symptom of depression. For me, it meant I completely lost my appetite. I used to feel vaguely hungry at first, and yet I didn’t really feel like eating anything, so I didn’t bother. Now I never feel hungry anymore, and I think I could go on indefinitely without eating; indeed, this might confirm my theory that I have died sometime around the end of January.
Then I did some more reading and discovered that depression is linked to a lack of some nutrients, notably B vitamins, omega 3 fatty acids, magnesium, selenium, complex carbohydrates and antioxidants.
So I came up with a few ideas for meals rich in these magical ingredients. Very simple ones, since who could be bothered with real cooking anyway? Dear Nutritionists, with your suggestions of organic meals made from ingredients bought directly from your local farmer and harvested from virgins under the full moon, and then minced, diced, sliced, sauteed, broiled, baked, boiled and artistically arranged on an ancient china plate bought at a fleamarket in Paris: when you have depression, some days it is already a big success to be able to get out of bed and drag yourself to your local supermarket. You can happily unhappily starve in your flat and the only one who will realise is your landlady when the money in the bank has run out. And the last thing you want is a bathtub full of dirty dishes and pots. So keep it simple, thank you very much.
As an example, here are a few happy meals:
Spinach frittata (antioxidants, folate and vitamin B, omega 3 fatty acids)
lamiacucinapersiana.blogspot.co.at
Cook a handful of leafy spinach in until rather dry, and then chop them; while they cool whisk two eggs with salt, pepper, and a tablespoon of grated parmesan cheese. Add the spinach to the eggs and cook it all in a pan.
Legumes soup (folate, selenium)
You can use practically any kind of legumes: the more, the merrier. If you use dried legumes, soak them in cold water through the night; if you use fresh or canned you can cook them straight away.
Sauté chopped onions in a bit of oil; then add two cups of legumes and eight cups of water and let it simmer for about one hour. You can also add tomato paste and herbs or spices like rosemary or chili pepper, and of course a bit of salt.
Serve with grated parmesan cheese and olive oil.
Salmon and brown rice with almonds (Omega-3 fatty acids, complex carbs, magnesium)
Boil the brown rice and sauté it lightly with sliced almonds and a little butter.
Meanwhile, cook the salmon in a pan with a little butter.
Serve the salmon with the rice as a side dish, or mince the salmon and serve it all together.
Mashed cauliflower (antioxidants, folate)
Steam or microwave the cauliflower, then mash it with a bit of butter, salt and pepper.
Stir-frys (antioxidants, folate)
You can use lots of different veggies; for example, broccoli, carrots, cabbage, beans, but anything that can be cut in suitable pieces and won’t get mushy will do. Ideally, you should try and choose vegetables that have a similar cooking time.
You can serve it mixed with diced lean meat (B vitamins, selenium) – you will need to sear it beforehand, and only add it to the veggies at the very end, nuts (magnesium), and brown rice or barley (complex carbs) – also boiled beforehand, of course.
Dark chocolate (antioxidants)
Ok, this is not a recipe. Hm. Low fat yogurt with bits of dark chocolate? Do we really need to JUSTIFY eating chocolate?
Drinks:
Green tea (in spite of the caffeine, the L-theanine it contains has a soothing effect)
Freshly squeezed orange juice (antioxidants)
Smoothies: throw any kind of fruit in a mixer; you can also add a little yogurt if you want it creamy. I suggest peaches, apricots, berries, citrus, kiwi and bananas, which are especially rich in antioxidants and folate, but anything goes here, really.
Enjoy!
Versatile Blogger Award!
Posted on: May 20, 2013
I got another award! This time it is the Versatile Blogger Award, and I have been nominated by both Eros & Psyche and shoe 1000 – thank you so much!
Does that mean that I will receive TWO trophies, I wonder. I hope they are not too cumbersome.
The name seems to suggest that at least at the beginning this was supposed to be meant for bloggers who write about different topics, and actually, I try to keep my blog more or less focused on the funny side of depression, so for example I don’t include my most tearful writings, also because inspiring my readers to jump off the nearest cliff would be rather counter-productive. However, to give myself at least a semblance of versatility, I have written a totally unfunny post about recipes, and no, it’s not recipes for disaster.
The Rules and Requirements for The Versatile Blogger Award
1. Add The Versatile Blogger award photo on a blog post
2. Thank the person (or mythical being) who presented you with the award and link back to him or her in your post
3. Share seven things about yourself
4. Pass the award along to 15 favourite bloggers. Contact the chosen bloggers to let them know about the award.
So, the seven things about myself:
1. My favourite ice cream flavour is pistachio
2. The nail polish I am wearing right now is pistachio-coloured, too
3. I am wondering if I have any pistachios in the cupboard? Not likely, though
4. I like taking photographs and making jewellery. Neither of these hobbies of mine has anything to do with pistachio.
5. I could ride my bike forever. Just go on and on and on and never come back. Perhaps some day I will do just that.
6. I have once taken a Klingon language class.
7. I can touch my wrist with the thumb of the same hand***.
And the 15 blog recommendations, in random order – you will see that there’s a bit of everything, don’t be afraid it’s just depressing stuff and check them out!
2. Lindaghill
6. How Do You Eat An Elephant?
7. Beth and Bex
10. She Wore Ribbon
12. athingirldotcom
13. Barb Taub
14. Elevated Attire
15. Life Assays
So here it is! Thanks again!
*bows*
*steps on gown*
*suffers major wardrobe malfunction*
*gets completely ignored by the paparazzi*
Stupid paparazzi.
*** After a series of unfortunate incidents, I feel compelled to recommend DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME! ***
I want to be plural!
Posted on: May 10, 2013
“We are going to the cinema, care to come?” “We don’t know yet where we are going to spend the hols.” “Repairing the heating cost us a fortune”.
People talk about themselves in the plural form, and I always feel a pang of envy when they do. It means they have somebody they can count on, that they are a part of someone’s life.
With me, it is always “I”. “I could go to the cinema tomorrow. Or just stay home alone hoping some thief shows up for company or prank opportunities.” “I’m not going anywhere for the holidays: first, I have no money, plus, even if I had, travelling alone would just be depressing. I could perhaps bring the thieves with me, though.” “Repairing the heating cost me a fortune and frankly I only repaired it because it was a safety hazard. And while I thought the idea of just falling asleep and sleeping forever was rather appealing, the chimney sweeper found me out so I had to fix it.”
Just my luck, by the way. The only person in my life who is singular is the chimney sweeper, who’s clearly the only one in his trade who doesn’t have a magical nanny with whom to dance on the roof, so he can actually do his job which consists in getting me out of bed at an unholy hour just to tell me that I will need to starve myself in order to be able to save enough money to pay for the privilege of not suffocating.
So, only my chimney sweeper and I are singular, everybody else is plural. I wish I could be plural, too. All the while still wishing I was singular. Actually, I think I need a language where there’s no distinction between singular and plural. I have heard Japanese might do the trick?
It looks like I am developing a phobia for grammar; which by the way has a name (it’s called grammatophobia) and yet doesn’t seem to be a legitimate phobia, so I couldn’t research how this typically works and evolves. I might be the first person affected, ever.
Will this keep to singular and plurals, so I could really solve it by adopting a language with no distinction? Or will it extend to other, more or less random, grammatical elements? Perhaps an urge to punch in the face anybody who shows off with a particularly elaborate construction? And how to make the difference between a normal reaction (anybody would be slightly tense when faced with a past perfect subjunctive tense) and a pathological one (like crossing yourself every time you encounter a cardinal number)?
And will this stay limited to grammar, or will it invade other domains? I wouldn’t be surprised if I started being pissed off at even numbers – I’m always the odd one out, while everybody else comes in pairs. The number 1 is depressing in itself. So will I end up having to buy at least three of anything? Three shoes, three gloves, three watermelons? And what am I going to do with three watermelons anyway? I don’t even like melons, plus according to The Internet, they might be depressing. Or depressed. And shady. Definitely very shady. And possibly on drugs?
turn: terrible, do not eat watermelon, and depressed!!!!!!!
pigment powder with water saccharin tricks, melon conscience exposes insider traders –
Hot summer, eat a sweet red watermelon, both hot weather and thirst. When people of this natural fruit cooing when, who thought of commitment, these red and sweet watermelon, melon actually Meixin traders to earn money, injecting saccharin and coloring the water cooked out of it! Yesterday, a melon trafficking, told reporters this one blew the whistle on shady.
[actual internet wisdom – handbook case of terminal grammatophobia]
I want to be singular!
Posted on: May 2, 2013
435729.medialib.glogster.com/
People have an annoying habit of referring to me in the plural form.
I first noticed a few months ago: I happened in the area where someone I know had opened an Italian restaurant some time previously, and I decided to drop by and say hi. I found him much changed. Not only he had taken to making sushi: he had also grown distinctly Asian features.
I wrote him an e-mail to inquire about this puzzling turn of events, from my own e-mail address, signing with my name only, with such formulations as: “*I*happened at your restaurant…*I* wanted to say hi…*I* was surprised to see that…” and he replied soon afterwards: “Dear friends, you (plural) are always so kind, thank you (plural) for your (plural) concern. I leased the place to a Korean cook) [mystery solved!], but I will be sure to tell you (plural) immediately when I open a new place”. Huh?
Once alerted to the peculiar phenomenon, I realised that this happens all the time. People inviting *us* to events. Asking me how *we* are doing, how *we* spent the holidays, what plans *we* have for the upcoming weekend.
I am puzzled. Have I developed multiple personalities without realising? Is my guardian angel suddenly visible? Is that a covert way to imply that I am fat? Do I look like the Pope? Or am I really the Pope? Could I be the first atheist Pope in the history of the Church? What were the good old Cardinals thinking?
I have a sneaking suspicion that by referring to me in the plural form they actually mean me and my FBFF. Because they also apparently tell her stuff and assume that I will be informed. “But how come you do not know?? I did tell your FBFF!”
Well, breaking news! I am not her! She’s not me! I am not we! She is not us! We are not you! You are not him! Him who??
When they go all plural on me, or ask me to do things like relaying a message or giving her something, I politely tell them that I have no idea of what’s going on with her, and that they should contact her directly.
She seems to have chosen a completely different approach: when people ask her about me, she simply makes things up. That brings about interesting situations, like something that happened last Sunday: I had an ice cream with a common acquaintance, and when I left to go home he observed that I was going in the same direction as always. He found that very surprising. I found his very surprise very surprising. Huh?? He explained that my FBFF had told him I had moved flats, and I should have told him, he would have been soooo happy to help. I evilly replied that I haven’t moved, but that I want to and I am very grateful for his kind offer and will make sure to contact him when the time comes. He turned slightly green at that. I wonder why, perhaps the ice cream had disagreed with him?
Anyway, I would like to use this opportunity to launch an appeal to all my friends and frenemies, none of which know about this blog, so my appeal will wander aimlessly through cyberspace like a message in a bottle, and will be retrieved in fifty years or so by a young and rather cute journalist who was actually looking for something about depressed kittens, and he will come to the very old me for an interview, and I will brew him a steaming cup of tea with actual crushed dried leaves, and he will find this very quaint and will ask me where you can still buy the leaves and not the usual concentrate or a powder, and I will tell him that I had grown it in my garden, and he will love that and start planning in his mind a series of articles about the way you used to do things in the good old times, and he will ask me how did I manage to grow tea in this climate, and I will reply “Oh, but this is not actual tea, my dear”, and cackle evilly and later dispose of his body in the tools shed.
But I digress. So here is my appeal: Dear grammar debauchers, there is a reason why most languages have evolved a singular and a plural form, and it’s a perfectly good one! And no, it wasn’t to provide teachers with a further torture instrument – although that might indeed be the case for irregular plurals. So, use wisely and correctly this wonderful option given to us by the Gods of Grammar!
Thank you very much. We have spoken.
List of Characters
Posted on: May 2, 2013
Anonymity breeds Acronymity, and people might get confused as to who’s who, so I thought I will make a little list of characters of my little drama, to be expanded as necessary.
BFF, or FBFF: my Former Best Friend Forever. To anyone who might think these are teenagers’ squabbles: we are both forty years old, give it or take it. Wise and mature. So this is my best friend of twenty years, the one who used to say that friends will help you through, but neglected to specify that by that she meant that friends were there to help her, not the other way around. How forgetful.
BT: the Blasted Thing. The man of my life! As luck had it though, I am not the woman of his life. Not because of another woman. There was no one else. He used to say he was too set in his bachelor’s ways, and then went for the first thing who would have him. So he did wish for a relationship, and yet he’d rather be alone than with me. How flattering.
Death Becomes Me
Posted on: April 24, 2013
I used to have this great fear. Because I saw it coming, and I saw that nothing I tried was working. I thought that if that one thing happened I would die.
Then it happened.
And I died.
And I must say, death is better than a miserable life. You don’t care much about things. You don’t need food anymore. You don’t need to worry about building for your future life, since there is no future life. The one thing you really feared losing is already lost, and that makes you effectively invulnerable.
So all in all this is a positive development, and I’m making the necessary adjustments.
This is the first time I die, so I am not sure how the whole thing is supposed to work. There’s precious little documentation on the subject, and what there is mostly belongs to the realm of fiction and there’s no first hand accounts. So I am quite on my own here, but wasn’t I before, too?
I haven’t started decomposing yet, and quite frankly, I hope I never do. That would be so inconvenient! Imagine you shake hands with someone and they rip your hand off? So embarrassing!
Luckily, the way things look like right now makes me think I might be slowly turning into either a mummy or a ghost. If it is a mummy, I should start hoarding wrappings, but I’m not sure about the colour. I think off white is so wrong, I am pale enough as it is and I would really like a pop of colour. I quite like the pantone colour of the year, emerald, but I wonder if it will get old after a few hundred years. I don’t think I can unwrap and rewrap myself without breaking off fingers and toes and stuff; I guess I could layer new bandages on top of the old ones, but that would make me look like the Michelin Man, so I should probably set on a colour and keep to it for all eternity. Once decided on the colour, I will have to get white wrappings and colour them myself in the washing machine – can you believe it, you can’t buy colourful mummy wrappings anywhere! Not even on Etsy! I will have to do it over and over again, since according to my research I need 372 square meters of linen. That’s A LOT! And I don’t have so much place to hang it and dry it. So, lots of work, but it’s not like there’s much hurry.
Also, every self-respecting mummy needs a curse. I am quite stumped on this, too. Perhaps I should take my inspiration from actual ones, combining two of them together, like All people who enter this tomb may the hippopotamus be against them in water, and Death shall come on swift wings to him who disturbs the peace of the King. My own curse could be something along the lines of To ye who disturb my rest the hippopotamus shall come on swift wings. Yes, I think this has potential.
There’s also the matter of my future abode. I am NOT going to live in a tomb. Perhaps a museum? I could offer myself to the British Museum and get to know Ginger. He’s the earliest Egyptian mummy, and they used to call him that because of his hair. Later though they realised that it wasn’t nice of them and they changed the name to something more respectful: 32751. Hm.
The idea of living in a museum has its romantic allure. I could terrorize small children during the day, and wander about at night. Better than ending up as fuel for locomotives, at any rate.
And yet, I’m a bit of a sissy as for surgical procedures, and I am not looking forward to the whole pulling my brain out through my nostrils thing, so I really hope I rather go the ghost way. Ghosts are so glamorous! I can haunt some old building and live like a princess. I will have all the advantages of being invisible, with additional perks: I could make myself visible if I chose to, for additional scaring opportunities and to look as stunning as the Grey Lady in Harry Potter, I won’t need to worry about food and comfort, and I will be able to fly and walk through walls and everything. So finger crossed on this one! By the way – *checks fingers* – Good, all fingers still accounted for.
Well! Time will tell I guess. I will keep you posted, and in the meantime, greetings from the Afterlife!
Liebster Award!
Posted on: April 18, 2013
I have won an award! A Liebster Award! I was nominated by Supremely Funny Extraordinaire Barb Taub, so check out her blog!
This is my acceptance speech. Please picture me wearing an elegant updo with loose curls escaping here and there (but doing so in the most elegant way), a midnight blue lace dress with a long, full skirt, and tripping on it only three times on my way to the microphone, and only once swearing audibly.
First of all, the rules:
“The award is given to up and coming blogs with less than 200 followers; the person nominated needs to answer eleven questions and nominate eleven other bloggers, ask them eleven questions in turn and then comment on their blogs to let them know they’ve been nominated.”
And the nominees are…..
So these are my nominees. I am not sure how many followers they have, and some might already be quite successful, but awards, like compliments, are always nice, right?
Dear Nominees: I realise that accepting a Liebster Award is quite a lot of work. Plus it sort of messes up with posting schedules and blog consistency overall; personally I was happy to receive one, but rest assured: I won’t be deeply offended if you choose not to accept it 😉
1. Bullo!
4.Organized Musings of a Chaotic Mind
8. Little Lobo
The eleven questions I have to answer:
(I am not ready! I should have studied instead of staying up all night watching anime. I swear if this goes well anyway next time I will study! On the other hand, that would kind of prove that you can just watch anime and then blunder through)
1. What was your first car?
I never had a car and I’m never going to have one! I’m totally against cars. I have my faithful bike though, and my first bicycle was a green folding one. I said “folding” and not “foldable” because it would in fact fold by its own initiative whenever it suited her, be it in the middle of a ride.
2. What was your last brush with the Law?
Jude? I guess it was when he came to shoot something in the city I live in, a few months ago. But I didn’t actually meet him, and even if I had, I think brushes would have been the last thing on my mind.
3.Star Wars or Star Trek?
Star Wars, if only for the music.
4.Dr. Who or Dr. Laura?
Who??
5.Worst movie ever?
Whatever my brother in his extreme arthouse movie phase force-fed me.
6.Who would you like to have a conversation with at a cocktail party?
A true friend – or a unicorn, whoever turns up first.
7. Best guilty pleasure ever?
Bread with butter and sugar
8. Who would play you in the movie?
Uggie from The Artist
9.What is something people don’t know about you?
It’s a secret, duh. Oh, whatever, I am going to tell you my darkest secret. Ha! Just joking.
10. What is the one thing you can’t live without?
A heart. Although lungs are pretty handy, too.
11. As a child (or now!), what did you want to be when you grew up?
I had nothing definite in mind. I selected my dream job later, upon entering university, and I was so lucky to actually land it.
And here the eleven questions I am asking:
1. Do you suffer from depression, or do you know someone who does?
2. My blog is about facing depression with humour. Do you think it is tasteless to make fun of depression?
3. Talking about tasteless, do you think depression tastes like chicken?
4. If yes, like nuggets or like roast chicken? And if no, what does it taste like, then?
5. Do you feel for the plight of Depressed Chickens?
6. Would you be prepared to wear a yolk-coloured ribbon for Chickens Depression Awareness?
7. What do you think Question Number 7 should be?
8. Do the people in your Real Life know about your blog?
9. Why did you choose to tell them, or not to?
10. Do you think there are too many bloggers to nominate, and too many questions to answer and to ask, in order to get a Liebster Award? Fun fact: the original version of the Award only had you nominate 3-5 bloggers.
11.How would you answer Question Number 7 if you were a depressed pink unicorn with glitter on its hooves?
* * *
So, that was it. Again, thank you soooooo much for this award! *bows* OMG, this is heavy and cumbersome. *bows again*. Ok, one hand to hold the award, one hand to manage the gown. Oh – steps. Oh – a banana peel. Oh – &%$§€@!!!
Click
Posted on: April 11, 2013
When you have depression, I swear that you LITERALLY see it all black. I do, at least. When sadness creep on, it is like someone had dimmed the lights. Depression is a dreary, dark place.
Click.
Very dark.
Click.
Pitch black, in fact.
Click. Click, click, click.
OK, not THAT literally dark – oh shit, they have cut off my electric power.
So what do you do in such a situation? Well, first you turn on your computer, observe with dismay that you have only a couple of hours before you are cut off from the rest of the world, and send a pathetic Skype IM to the Blasted Thing of your choice, telling him vaguely and cutely that you are having some kind of a problem.
It’s really nothing you need his help for, but a reply would bring the light back to your heart at least, and who needs a light bulb when you have a heart full of light? He is going to offer his help, say that he will call the electrical company in the morning so there will be no language problems, and in the meantime you can stay at his place and have a warm shower and recharge your batteries and get a goodnight kiss, and you will graciously decline, telling him that you are a strong, independent woman who has her shit together and has only had a split second of weakness because of the shock, and how silly was that? And he will tell you that of course you are not silly, and that you can call him any time, and to let him know if you change your mind, and anyway a promised kiss is a kiss owed, and all will be right with the world and the sun will shine and the birds will chirp and they will only very rarely land droppings on your bike, and never on the saddle or on the handlebars.
In the Real World, the Blasted Thing didn’t reply, but I wasn’t crushed, because I know that he really cares about me. I just need to get WhatsApp.
Actually, when the computer finally died on me, I regretted sending that message: both computer and phone were now turned off, and since I hadn’t stated what my problem was, it sounded like it was something really serious, and he was going to get all worried and would probably drive to my place to check on me, and this would take him the best part of twenty minutes, and what was I going to tell him then? That all that fuss was about a power outage? I considered getting ready for the inevitability by staging a real emergency for when he would come pounding at my door, like smearing myself with raspberry jam and pretending I had cut myself, or jotting down the story of my beloved auntie Genoveffa who had just died, and how close we were when I was little, and how she taught me how to knit (exhibit number one: I scarf I actually knitted myself, drenched in tears), and how she taught me how to cook (exhibit number two: a little known Italian specialty that consists in getting out anything you might have in the fridge and pouring it over pasta, a tradition of Moving Day and Last-Day-Before-the-Holidays Day and Power-Outage Day), and how she taught me how to dress sexy (exhibit number three: a glimpse of sexy underwear).
Turned out I didn’t need to bother.
So, when something like this happens, first you write for support to someone who ignores you, but you’re not hurt because it is your fault for not having the right communication platform.
Then, you retrieve your old cell-phone, whose battery has the endurance of a cardiopathic mayfly, and use it to call a friend for advice, half in tears.
She did offer to let me crash on her couch and was very helpful, but was strangely positive that the world is NOT out to get me, and I should really start and read my mail. More to the point, I should start reading it NOW, get it out of whatever place I stuffed the post into, and look for evidence of what happened. Duh, how can I read with no light? How can I open my post knowing that there’s sure to be bad news?? How can I believe that the world is not out to get me with such compelling evidence in front of my very eyes??? Really, people have the most outlandish ideas.
Finally, you call the outage service, and have the electrical company guy tell you, without even asking if you have paid your bill, got warnings, if there’s light in the rest of the house, what you had for dinner, that he is going to give you the number of a private electrician. ??? His cousin? I patiently explained to him that I believed that his company had cut me off and I would have liked to know why, and he asked me what company, so I unveiled the name of his employer, and he told me that even if that was the case, it is very complicated to find out. I was all supportive and motivating and assured him that he was a very competent and intelligent young man, and that he could raise to the challenge, and how rewarding it was when he did manage to confirm that his company had cut me off! Well done, Cousin of Private Electrician! He couldn’t explain why they had come to this brilliant idea, but he did give me a number to call in the morning. I’m so proud of him. I am sure that in a few months if he works hard he will be able to find out not only who employs him, and the way to the canteen, but perhaps even how to turn on his computer.
Can’t say the same about myself, unfortunately – well, I know my employer as well as I know myself (the perks of being self-employed), I know my way to the kitchen, and I do know how to turn on my computer – but that’s not going to help me much, since I only have twenty minutes of battery left.But anyway this all happened yesterday and I hope it will be solved tomorrow.
So you know what, I will post this and then just sit in the dark. That’s what depressed people are supposed to do anyway, right?
Deprifun 