Something Smells Funky

The last 18 hours or so I've been in a funk. I've even sat at the computer the last hour just staring at this screen, not knowing what to say.

It's weird how some things - minute, insignificant, trivial, BULLSHIT things, can have such an effect on you.

I got a parking ticket yesterday. I parked on a street I always park on, and that street has always been free. So sometime between last week and yesterday, I guess a "No Parking After 6pm" sign was put up. Obviously I didn't check for the sign when I parked because, like I said, I always park there.

But, of course, I'm walking back to my car after class, get to my car around 6:10. There's a ticket for 68 dollars sitting there. The parking patrol guy had just finished giving me a ticket because he was currently working on the car behind me.

I wanted to curse him out, yell at him, get all crazy latin up in his face, but...I couldn't. I mean, he's got a fucking shit job, but it's his job right? Those guys have no sympathy. Why waste my time, it wasn't going to make him un-ticket me. I just told myself, "Well, it's already done with so let it go."

But for some reason, I could not let it go. I drove to a workshop and let the tension and frustration sit in me, affecting my mood during the class and affecting my performance. Of course, that put me in an even worse mood when I got home.

In the grand scheme of things, a parking ticket is not something you'll remember a year, or even a month from now. It's a hiccup. A nuisance. But after getting my keys stolen last weekend ("Worst Day Ever") this was just icing on a very disgusting cake. Like....cottage cheese icing on a crab cake. (These are both things I hate if you didn't understand where that combination was coming from.)

When it rains, it pours, right? I guess I'm the old man snoring in this scenario.

The ticket is already paid for, today is a new day, yet I'm still feeling down. I know I have the choice to let this continue to affect me negatively, and if that's the case, why am I choosing to feel miserable?

Why am I throwing myself a pity party? It's an awfully boring and tragic party of one. No balloons or face painting, just this stupid cottage cheese crab cake. WHO BROUGHT THAT?! Oh, me.

Today's post serves a more selfish purpose, I needed to have a little wrant (A written rant). To rub the funk off. To get all this feeling-like-crap-feeling out of the way so I can have the rest of my day to do more productive and positive things. And thanks to this article I read this morning, 10 Little Things That Steal Your Happiness, I remember this quote: "You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude towards what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you."

I can very easily get back into bed and mope for the rest of the day. OR I can do things that I know put me in a better mood:

Sara's Instamood List:
I can go hiking.
I can ride my bike.
I can bake.
I can buy flowers.
I can watch TV. I need to finish Orange Is The New Black anyway cuz that show is the shiiiiz.
I can read. I'm in the middle of two great books right now.
I can color in my coloring book. Yes, I have one. But it's an adult Andy Warhol one so suck it!

So, my mission for the rest of day is to do at least half of these things. Because a parking ticket is a nothing more than a parking ticket. The universe isn't conspiring against me.

I totally understand that some days aren't your best and we all can't be at 100% 24-7. If we were, we wouldn't be human. We'd be weird robot-alien-creatures. So give yourself the time to be down and dwell if that's what you need. Take the rest of the day off, two days if you really need. But come day three, make a list of things that you know put you in a great mood, AND GO DO THEM.

Because if you allow yourself to sit in negativity for too long, it becomes masturbatory and you're just perpetuating a woe-is-me mentality that serves no good. And ain't nobody got time for that!

So, I'm off to go take a "happy shower" and clean off this funk. Because I stink!