Theory #5: Out There in the Great Big World

My boss took me out for drinks after work today. I have had a tough month. Luckily, he wanted to support me and let me know that he felt I had been unlucky. He is worried I might be frustrated. I know this because he asked me “Are you getting frustrated”.

It is a difficult question to answer when the person asking has such a limited view of the full picture. Life is bigger than work. As with any employee, he doesn’t actually know the half of it.

In reality (which is an ironic way to start this paragraph), my fantasy baseball team is redefining the word ‘frustrating’. I turned on the TV last night to see my only good pitcher had given up 5 runs in the first inning, and my shortstop was lying on the ground writhing in pain. It might be a nerd hobby to you, but I am using both halves of my ass trying to win this thing.

My air conditioner is not up to the challenge of summer, and my new front-loading washing machine seems to hate my clothes more than girls do. My Internet connection is an enigma, and not the good kind of enigma.

I will resist the temptation to dwell on the fact that the last year has been some strange combination of disease and divorce.

You know what else?

I have doubled my Internet bankroll in poker in the last month. “Why”, you ask? Brilliant play? Not really. Every card has been coming up Mark. People have been swearing and cursing as every little situation goes in my favour. I’ll probably have enough excess bankroll to pay for a trip to Vegas for the 2nd year in a row. One person in the great big universe, who thought I sucked but probably didn't understand pot odds, actually commented that I was the luckiest person in the world.

Me.

The luckiest in the world.

Good for me.

I brought my great ping pong nemesis to his knees yesterday, winning an unheard of 9 straight games and sending him spiraling to a world of sad and embarrassing excuses. He stopped by my office today to say “It turns out I ate something at lunch yesterday that made me ill. . .”. Freakin’ beautiful.

I spent last weekend at my cottage in perfect weather, as I did my best to groove Theory #4 to my advantage. I have a very long weekend scheduled this week and I will be right back up at my favourite place in the world. Except for Vegas.

I have met some interesting people that I really like lately.

England keeps winning at the World Cup.

But they are also playing like crap.

My hockey team pulled off two upsets in a row to finish the season.

To finish fifth.

Am I frustrated?

Well, as best as I can tell:

Yes, Yes, Yes, No, No. No, No, Yes/No ,Yes/No.

On average, this works out to pretty much the same as every other week.

The truth is I have all kinds of dumb little things that I love. My little world is a fortress built to my own ridiculous specifications. Barring any major emergency involving health, loved ones, or alcohol shortages, no one thing has much control over my mood.

Which brings me to the simple but important Theory #5 in the Book of Mark:

It is a great big world. If you aren’t putting yourself out there, all over the place, you are leaving your mood to chance. Why would anybody do that?

So what did I say when my boss asked if I was frustrated?

I was honest as I could be. I told him it was too close to call. It pretty much depended on if he was buying.

And he was.

So life is good.