Wednesday, January 21, 2009

These are the times...

Current Reading: Ubik, by Phillip K. Dick

Inspirational Quote: "Reflect upon your present blessings of which every man has many - not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some" -- Charles Dickens

I had fettucini alfredo and garlic bread for supper tonight. My mouth tastes like dead rat.

So, Barak Obama became president yesterday. Maybe you noticed. Everyone was moved and inspired, and they don't seem to have realized that the world hasn't changed yet. There's a lot of work to be done. George Bush didn't make this mess all by himself. Greed, corruption and incompetence will always be with us, and must be opposed vigorously regardless of who sits in office.

In other news, I enjoyed a car sandwich for lunch on December 31. There were no injuries, and the person who caused the accident suffered the most vehicular damage. My Saturn was the meat in the sandwich, so I got off with a cracked bumper (it's true. Saturns don't dent. Unfortunately, in cold weather, they break) and a lap full of Wendy's fries and coca-cola. Inconvenient, but not bad.

The same day, I received word that my uncle, who had been fighting cancer, lost. There are no rematches.

On the day of his funeral, which I was out of town attending, a good friend of mine dropped dead of a heart-attack at 49. I'll miss you, Paul Green. You were a better man than I, and you did it in such a way that I didn't mind your superiority at all.

And, to bring us up to current events, the company for which I work has filed for bankruptcy protection here in Canada. I was paid last week, but next pay period, the results are anyone's guess. I've also been told that I could, and probably will, be let go sometime soon without warning or severance.

So far? 2009? Not shaping up to be my favorite year.

I hope your 2009 has been less... eventful.

2 comments:

slcard said...

Dear Ulysses:

I'm sure it's no consolation, and perhaps this comment would be better placed with the previous post, but your Ramble was one of the funniest things I've ever read. I first found it at Nathan Bransford's following a string of rather depressing comments, which left me feeling miserable and asking, "Why? Why do I do it?". Yours then had me laughing so hard my son called upstairs to see why I was crying (I wasn't, I was just laughing that hard). So, if nothing else in 2009, you've made someone else happy when they were not and saved all my manuscripts from a big winter bonfire. Thank you. I wish you well.

--slc

Ulysses said...

Thanks, slc. Glad you enjoyed it.

Into every life, some rain must fall. Some days, I run for the umbrella, some days I dance.