Sunday, July 06, 2008

A change in fortunes

The last time I went on my usual trip to New York (New Year's, 2006/07), I had a wonderful time. I was in a cheerful mood when I drove back home, though exhausted when I finally stepped out of the car. Things didn't go well from the moment I stepped through the door; by the end of the night, I had dumped my boyfriend, driven to a friend's house and cried on her couch through three hours of Home and Garden Television. I spent a lot of the next week sniffly, but other than that one thing (snort), the rest of the week was weepy but otherwise uneventful.

This time, I was reasonably confident that nothing worse could happen, aside from an eye-rolling, "Well, I have to pay rent the first day I get back."

And I walked into my leasing office, and there was my ex-boyfriend, sitting at the table, signing his lease.

Blarg.

Rationally, I know this is a meaningless development. One of my friends lives in this complex. I like him a lot. It would make me smile to see him. We work at the same place, so it would make sense for us to cross paths, either coming or going, at some point. And yet, in the two months I've lived here, I've never spotted him biking past or walking past or hitching a ride with his girlfriend past. This is what my rational mind is telling me.

My irrational mind was telling me it was a bad sign. Bad juju. A bad omen. It was, unfortunately, spot on for the week.

Other highlights of the week:
  • I lost power for 25 hours! Fuck you, recently restocked fridge full of groceries!
  • My oven set on fire! Piss off, half-made Strawberry Panzanella!
  • A 55 gallon fishtank a quarter filled with water was dropped on my hand. All bones intact, some bruising remains, but should be gone in a day or two. I think I did all the swearing that was called for in that situation already.
  • A tree bough missed crashing into the hood of my car by a foot or so!
  • A crazy lady nearly drove head-first into my car because the three no-left-turn signs mean nothing to self-assured Ann Arborites!
  • I finished watching Twin Peaks and I will never be complete, ever, ever again!

Now, I read a whole mess of blogs on skepticism and critical thinking. I recognize this for what it is: Superstitious thinking. It's just an unpleasant coincidence that all of this nonsense should fall so closely together with the contrasting pleasantry of my vacation. It is a touch of the much-loathed woo.

This is one of those tricky times to be an atheist. Sometimes, shit happens. As Penn Jillete puts it, "We live in a random universe filled with pain."

Every now and then, though, it would be wicked nice to have someone to blame.

[Edit: Which is not to say that the whole week has been utterly terrible. A gentleman I went to college with popped up from out of the blue, and it was good to hear from him. Thus far, he has not accidentally been killed in a freak explosion, which is promising.]

4 comments:

Sarah said...

Where do you live now (and which co-worker lives near you)?

Sasha Kovich said...

I'm in Spruce Knob, which is nice because I can walk to work. Will lives nearby, and Rena, Paul, Liz, Wednesday, and Shari are also absurdly close.

Seriously, Shar should just start up a commune.

Sarah said...

I used to joke that a few of us should just pool our money and rent a big house. Will used to sing "Shar House" to the tune of "Our House" whenever I brought it up.

I don't miss the job itself, but I do miss a lot of the people.

Seth Ruhle Thomas said...

The mojo meter went up a few notches after you left actually. Not only was I not kicked out of my house this time (yay!) that place Sam had applied for called back and gave him the job! Turns out the chick that impressed them more than Sam flat out lied during her interview and lasted less than a day and a half. It's one thing to really want a job and another thing to know what people are talking about on your first day.

Added mojo bonus: Sam having a job lowers my rent. ;-)