This sounds like more of a political thing than I meant it to. That's just one ingredient in the gloom.

I wish I could but things are very very bleak in my neck of the woods here. I've worked 1 1/2 years for no official pay (no pension/insurance/etc) - unlike other people who have done 0%, otherwise known as fuck-all, who have lifted handsome taxed salaries for over a year - I just get the occasional mini-kickback that I have had to beg for each time, aiming for the light at the end of the tunnel which I can see now is an oncoming train, as men on the board opted to choose a slick liars glossy presentation over my will-work-in-the-real-world plan. The slick people are now going back on their promise of delivering income, while still billing the company that is financially dead. I own 50% of the dying company, because I invested my site a.k.a my life's work. Bad choices from rich men in suits look like they will take it down with them. Meanwhile, I don't have enough to pay the for home my child lives in, nor buy her food.

I really need a lawyer.

(Yes Gomichild, thats why I'm so angry I can not sleep. I probably shouldn't be writing this anywhere but if I don't vent I might go postal.)

Tho' much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

... Oh and yes, the oil spill, the greek and icelandic situation and all the general nerves has hade me fretting much recently about the state of the world. You are not alone.

*whuffles* for dabitch

All I can do is quote BoringPostcards: At the core of every human being lies a mystery.

Think of it this way, you could have all this AND a painful boil on your ass.

Think of it this way, you could have all this AND a painful boil on your ass.

While unpleasant, that is something that could at least be dealt with fairly easily. Still, do not want.

Yeah, the world is pretty dire. I was waiting with a friend at the charity dental clinic - yup. - yesterday and overheard two women talking about how the end of the world was imminent and all the signs from Revelations were falling into place. Awesome! I keep thinking, if the world really is going to end in 2012 I'm going to feel like an idiot if I still have any money in the bank. But, if it doesn't and I go and spend all my money and go to Paris and do all the stuff I have never done and also, buy some new goddamn computer speakers and get new glasses, then I will end up gibbering from a cardboard box under the expressway. Which is going to happen probably anyway, since I can't find a goddamn job for the life of me and the savings are evaporating. . evaporating. . evaporating. Wheee!

mgl, how did I know that was the song you were going to link BEFORE I EVEN CLICKED IT??!!

KoP, does it help at all to concentrate on less-dire stuff? Like, maybe give yourself a vacation from the news or whatever? I know this is a little hippy-dippy, and for that I apologise but hey, you know, people are so much better at focussing on the negative than anything good.

It Takes A Village:

last night I came back from a ride to discover the neighbour's kid bawling on their front porch. She's maybe eight, and had been dropped off by friends' parents after their softball game. Friends didn't wait to see she got in, and for whatever reason her dad and sibs weren't home, so she was locked out, and freaked.

My first reaction was "well goddamnit fuckitall grar, stupid neighbours..." and so on. But then I was like "well, that sucks for the kid, let's go see what's up"

When I was a kid, I was home alone ALL THE TIME, so being eight and left alone was no big deal, plus I always had keys and so on. These days, I realise this is no longer the norm. So there's that. Also, this kid has older siblings, who are usually around, but were also out for whatever reason. Bottom line = unfamiliar, scary situation, kid doesn't have a key to the house or know where one is, hence the meltdown. Shit happens, so yea ok I could get all GRAR, but it's not helpful.

So I sat on the stoop and calmed her down, and said "hey, let's do this: I'll leave a note on the door and let's go hang out in our front yard (so returning parents could see her and know she wasn't in OMGDANGER from OMGCreepy Neighbour... yea so it also bugs me that the modern world is like this but whatever) and we can hacky sack. So we kicked bag for awhile until her dad got back - he'd gotten caught up in work/traffic, etc... and was running late. Shit happens. Dad was relieved.

I guess there's really no point to that story, just that I guess the only thing you can control is your reaction to events, not the events themselves. More hippy-dippy zen stuff.

I swear I'm not trying to be patronising or whatever, I have seriously found that this kind of approach makes me a lot saner and calmer about the daily shit show. Because it is a shit show. Always has been, always will be. Not because the world is ending or anything like that, it's just... I think everyone struggles.

Westley: "Life is pain, princess. Anyone who tells you any different is selling something." /Westley.

plus, it could always be worse...

≡ Click to see image ≡

K of P, I know there are a lot of bad things happening, and a lot of bad people in the world. But there are good things too, and good people helping make them happen.

The earth can heal, there are people out there who are courteous and sweet and kind. I'm sorry you're lonely, and I know that the folks on MetaChat are just represented by words on a screen, but we're here. *whuffle*

*BWAHAHAHA* Okay, that cat photo had me laughing. Well played, lonefrontranger , weelllll plaayed.

Also, you rock for hacky-sacking.

*whuffles back to Melismata and all you words on a screen guys*

It's a very strange summer, economically, earth-wise and all. A long time ago when I was young and stoned I convinced myself that oil was the earth's blood, and without it the earth would die, or crumble up like a football lacking air. So I've been generally having flashbacks to that trip when reading about a gushing oil-wound and sudden enormous sinkholes everywhere. First that whole family sucked under in Canada, then the hole that looked like it was taken straight from a cartoon in Guatemala, this week in Sweden, now China.... Uh, I forgot was I was saying there dudes....Anybody have any chocolate cake?

No chocolate cake, but my favorite produce store has all the pints of red raspberries you want for $1.29 each. My fingers are all redsies.

I also love that cat pic, lfr.

This summer I've done more summer type activities in a month than I've done in years. Just by happenstance. Yeah, it's hot, or the water is too cold, and the bugs bite and stuff happens. But it's also fun. And it's given me fun summery we are all made of stars the past present and future are tied together in Now kind of dreams.

That's nice. On the world or personal level, stuff may suck royally, but the only joy is in the moment at hand.

Virtual water baloon fight!

rainbaby is so right. *reserves saturday all day for picknick* if you guys need me, I'll be barefoot in the grass.

On the world or personal level, stuff may suck royally, but the only joy is in the moment at hand.

Now I want that on MY wall.

This is a variation of what lfr said, but my calmness mantra is "Do I have the power to do anything about this?" If the answer is no, I disengage. If the answer if yes in a limited way, I do whatever the limited thing is and then disengage. If the answer if yes in a unlimited way, I direct my energy there.

No use trying to control things that are out of my control, really.

Which means: I have several therapy clients who are getting better. They are decreasing their anxiety and depression and increasing their coping mechanisms. That is awesome.

I have made my cat happy. It doesn't usually take much, but I've done it, and that's good.

I did what I could to take care of myself today. That is also good.

While unpleasant, that is something that could at least be dealt with fairly easily.

What I do when I'm feeling like crap is look around for just that sort of thing: What can I do easily that will make a difference in my life? Sometimes that's paying a bill that's been hanging over my head, or doing the dishes, or scrubbing the tub. Other times it's buying flowers for a grocery cashier.

Spend a little time each day doing something that will help you, either in the short or long term, and then congratulate yourself on it. It really helps me.

So this is kind of like what occhiblu said, only in more words.

You know what, I employed the "Do I have the power to do anything about this?" trick today and averted being cranky-as-hell for failed plans.

Plans: Get up, pack a little, get dress at drycleaner, get picknick packed, get to Sofiros castle with princess dressed daughter to watch the wedding on big screen telly in park.

Planfail : slept really late, was very groggy. SO says : c'mon help me with the last bit of wallpaper. I do, it takes a while. I tell him that I really have to shower before we can go out, so I go and get ready. By the time we leave for the train to Helsingborg, its 14:34 - the wedding is in exactly one hour. GRAR, I was going to get all mad at him for distracting me from my plan - but no wait, maybe we can make the train and then take a taxi instead of bus?
We go to the central station, check my bank card to see if that is possible. Good news, I do have taxi-money but once we see the train time tables, we realize we'll never make it to Sofiro on time anyway. Almost GRAR, but I suggest a new idea, lets take our picknick to Folkets Park instead, they have a big screen showing too. So we get on the bus, run into one of Perles wee girlfriends (also dressed as a princess) and get a good spot in the much less royal park. On the way there I notice dark rain clouds and say cheerfully maybe it was good we didn't make it to Sofiro, it looks like it's raining over there.

The day was good, we played in the park and took our time. Going home we buy dinner, when I yank my card out my drycleaning note falls out. Oh shooot! my gala-dress! Too late to pick it up! GRAR no wait, wasn't going to get all grar, what can I do to remedy this? Go through closet at home. Find that sexy black and gold seventies dress I used to fit in. Eye it up, eye me up. Lets give it a go shall we? We'll whaddya know, I'm back to my old weight and it fits!

"Hey baby, what do you think of this dress for the gala?" I say strutting my bare shoulders in the extremly tight gold top and flowing black skirt. I could tell by his face that he thought "HAWT" as he said "very nice". -"Good, then I'll wear this at the gala, which is even better, because I wore my other dress last year and god forbid people notice I only have two dresses!" *wink*

Now as I was packing I can't find my business-card stash. uh-oh. Instead of panicking I walked dowstairs and asked my man with the sweetest voice: "Those business card papers I bought last year, do we still have a few of those?" He turned the mess of boxes where he mysteriously shoves things around so that I can never find anything, inside out in ten seconds flat and came up with a bunch of those papers at once, so no panic there either.

Dang, everything works better with sweet voice and smiles.

(all this packing is because I'm reporting from the ad-oscars this week, I'm flying down tomorrow. The Saturday night gala is a big deal, you need to be decked out. Pretty much done packing now, drinking calming herbal tea and doing my nails).