Blue Monday

Against better judgment I watched the news today. It’s something I try not to do in general because no one ever seems to report good news. It’s always something drastic, terrible, or literally earth shattering. If the whackos don’t get you, the weather will. So that is how I learnt that today, Monday the 17^th, is the most depressing day of the year. It’s so bad, it has its own name: ‘Blue Monday’.


I don’t know what scientific basis there was for this. The journalist relating the story seemed delighted, so I guess the weather was not brining her down one bit. According to the ‘experts’ she interviewed (who were in similarly good spirits), today was the worst day and apparently January in general is forecasted to be depressing.


Normally, I would have heckled and jeered, but I was really feeling the blues myself. I momentarily put my pity party on hold to listen to the news piece. If anything, it made me feel better to know that others out there are miserable too. No wonder they say misery loves company.


Why so down? Well between the usual woes of being unemployed, Lanes’ PR card being missing in action and general apartment issues I was feeling a lot like I was sailing into a sea of despair while perched precariously on a tiny iceberg which was suffering from the effects of global warming.


I know now what we learnt at the orientation before coming to Canada is true. At first one is euphoric, then depressed/homesick, (then I think you settle down and all is well—I didn’t take very good notes—I was distracted by the fabulous Chinese meal they gave us as part of the orientation). I’m not really homesick, thanks to the wonderful invention of Skype, but I am depressed about not knowing what the future holds. I heard that happens to us control freaks.


I can also see why it is prudent to move in with your third cousin twice removed and proceed to work in your grand uncle’s neighbor’s nephew’s grandmother’s store until you can find the job of your dreams. It seems that is hard to move onwards and upwards when you come in with a blank database since who you know really helps in the job market.


We are slowly meeting some really nice genuine folks, and it’s a comfort to know they are out there. P is still sending out tailor made resumes, Lanes is pinning for my nutty sister, and I don’t know how to solve either one’s problem, and that is my problem. Other than that I really really super like it here and I’m depressed because I really want it to work out.


Other than that the apartment issues continue. Just when I thought we were done for a while (yea no ceiling leaks this week), a drawer in the kitchen collapsed, nearly taking out the few nice pieces of china we shipped. By nice I mean cute, not fancy, so in other words, I would have been in a flap if anything broke.


P and I tried to put the drawer back but it just wouldn’t since some part (made of plastic—top class) on it had broken. I just tucked the drawer in P’s closet because I couldn’t be bothered and went about doing laundry. Who flutters by the laundry room? My friend the maintenance man who made a mess in our apartment.


Against better judgment, I thought I’d ask him to come take a look at the drawer (I was too lazy to go in the cold to write a work order in the office). I figured nothing too bad could happen while fixing the drawer. Eager to redeem himself after he messed up the entire apartment last week, he quickly agreed to come to the rescue (after offering to clean the apt up again).


Well he showed up almost immediately and even insisted on going to a store to find a replacement for the broken piece. I felt really bad and told him there was no rush on it and to have the apartment folks figure it out. He came back in a jiffy beaming at our good luck since there was one spare piece he found in the bowels of the apartment.


He took a good while to fix it and I thought not watching would probably be best for both of us. When he was done, Lanes was highly interested in testing out his wide array of tools and he was fussing in the sink. I peered in to see what he was doing and turns out he has cut himself!!


The finicky part of me (92%) nearly felt faint and the blood was just oozing from his finger. He began a detailed explanation on how his skin is not that great and that this sort of thing happens all the time, and for some reason I started to feel mildly woozy as more blood kept bubbling up (must be since I was on cold number 102). Lanes decided to express a great interest in his tool box so I used that as an excuse to pack him off quickly after thanking him profusely.


Soon after that the lights went out in our kitchen and he was back again, but resolved the matter with no harm to himself or the apartment (or my sanity). So I guess we are ok for now in that department.


The rest of the week turned out to be better. I got over cold number 102 (but gave it to P) much quicker than the 101 that went before it. My nutty sister’s mom-in-law’s brother, our beloved yet slightly chaotic Uncle Rhondo (that’s the name he picked for himself, don’t ask why) came up for the weekend.


His arrival catapulted me out of the doldrums and Lanes was over the moon as he is in her top five of favorite people. He was quickly captured (and I was mercifully released) into her little world of madness. Many times he fell asleep while she was reading him stories and I would find her sitting cross legged staring adoringly at him while he slumbered.


It rained most of the weekend and I cooked up a storm. Everyone survived both the weather and my culinary delights, I’m happy to say. Uncle Rhondo headed back down south on this ‘Blue Monday’, and I was down in the dumps because the party was over. Lanes had cried a little in school about it. On the bright side, she articulated her feelings about it really well.


So that’s what’s been happening this week. Here’s hoping for a ‘Sunshiny Yellow Tuesday’ and I will enthrall you with our adventures next week…