Tomorrow's Gonna Suck
On a lark, I recently bought a bumper sticker
that reads "Tomorrow's gonna suck." It seemed a
pithy encapsulation of the current state of my
life, not to mention an often accurate prediction
of world affairs in this day and age. However, I've
kept it hidden away in my desk drawer, too
embarrassed to post it anywhere public (though, if
things continue as they have, I might break down
and slap it on my forehead before going out to the
grocery store). Self-pity—or rather, the
public display of self-pity—is pathetic, and
no one likes to read or hear about it. Like envy,
it's one of those dirty little emotions that is
best kept private. Though I've let slip a few
whinings here and there (see the second sentence of
this paragraph, for instance), I've tried to
restrain myself as much as possible from
complaining about my personal and professional
issues.
Having said that, however, perhaps I can be
forgiven one little pessimistic rant before I
resume my normally reserved, generally upbeat
scribblings. Many of my recent yesterdays have
sucked, so it's easy to believe that tomorrow will
suck too. Certainly, I would have correctly
described the way today went had I proclaimed
"tomorrow's gonna suck" yesterday. Though the day
started out promising with my brother helping me
lower my income taxes, it quickly degenerated after
a brief meeting with my "ex." Imagine dragging a
plow through the muck at the bottom of Los Angeles
Harbor, and you'll have a pretty good idea of the
effect the encounter had on me. I won't get into
the personal details, but suffice to say visibility
was reduced to zero for the rest of the day.
On the bright side, my recent trials have
reminded me how wonderful my family is. They have
been a tremendous source of support during this
period of "molting," whereas many of my friends
have faded into the woodwork. As they say, you can
pick your friends, you can pick your nose, but you
can't pick your relatives. Had I the luxury, I
couldn't have chosen a more thoughtful and caring
group of people to be my family.
I hope to remain close to them. With no job (no
"real" job, anyway), no love life and no strong
ties, I am casting my net wide. There's no telling
where my life's next chapter will open. The slow
uprooting of the past two years has been traumatic,
but also liberating in its own way. I stand at a
true turning point, with the rare opportunity to
point my bow in any direction. I've chosen poorly
in the past, so now's my chance to choose wisely.
Hopefully tomorrow won't suck.
Development note: I've
noticed that this site doesn't look like it should
in Netscape Navigator. Rather than waste time
jury-rigging it to look right in a
soon-to-be-obsolete browser, I'll just add the
cliché "This site best viewed with Internet
Explorer."
©2003 Michael
Strickland ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED
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What is "The Daily Strick"?
I have long called
myself a writer, but too often I don't do
what a writer must do daily: write. So
you, dear reader, are the beneficiary of
my resolution to make a positive change in
at least one area of my life. Every single
day of this new year, I will write
something, anything, and post it here. It
is my intention to use this daily exercise
to jump-start my too-long-dormant creative
energies, and perhaps generate some
worthwhile material this year. Hopefully
you will find at least an occasional
amusement or insight in my daily
musings.
Today's
Column
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Previously...
3/28:
Willing
to Change
3/27:
Tropical
Memories
3/26:
Regurgitation
3/25:
Piece
of the Puzzle
3/24:
Echoes
in Eternity
3/23:
Booing
for Columbine
3/22:
Not
Recommending Diving
3/21:
Works
in Progress
3/20:
Three
Rings of Shock & Awe
3/19:
Paris—A
Beautiful Blur
3/18:
Ignorant
Idiot Man
3/17:
The
Pirate Queen
3/16:
To
War or Not to War
3/15:
So
Long, Seau
3/14:
Telemarketing
Pays
3/13:
Free,
For Now
3/12:
Chicken
Little Gets Respect
3/11:
Axis
of Evil
3/10:
Writing
Kept Me From Writing
3/9:
King
Arthur
3/8:
The
Women are Smarter
3/7:
Salt
on Old Wounds
3/6:
3/3/03,
3:33 p.m.
3/5:
Beer
Day
3/4:
Pulling
the Trigger
3/3:
Make
'Em Laugh
3/2:
Whither
Iraq?
3/1:
Strickland
Cellars
Previous months in
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Archive
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