Rant(s)

Just reading the title of this post it's easy to conclude that this is not going to be a happy read, but ive been having a really crappy day (weeks?) I need to rant.

First, I can't make ANYthing. Seriously. Everything I've made so far feel like major fails. It wouldn't bother me really if I were just experimenting, or looking for something new and fun to do. But I have a deadline, which I might not be able to meet, i now realize. Most of the time, last minute panic fuels creativity and becomes fodder for some seriously inspired work, but, man! My brain feels like a sun-baked stretch of desert; dry and blah. {insert guttural expression of absolute frustration}

Then 2 nights ago, my dogs fought and one of them came out with a couple bites on the forearm, which swelled so much the following morning I thought it was getting infected or that it got fractured. It was a relief that after a couple days of cleaning the bites and giving extra pats, hugs and food, he's feeling much better. I am reminded that there are blessings we can still be thankful for even during times when we feel sh*t's hitting the the fan at warp speed.

And the cherry on top is my old phone finally saying sayonara. It would not charge and upon inspection, i found out that one of the pins in the charging port was missing and the plastic base it was attached to looked like it was starting to disintegrate. My heart ached watching the battery drain slowly as i frantically tried to transfer all my important files (doggy pictures & videos) to my SD card. I'm gonna miss that phone. It served me well.

Which brings me to a pet peeve of mine. I hate disposable stuff. I'm all for recycling and being kind to the environment, but having everything made biodegradable has its pros & cons. I Miss those times when electronics guaranteed to last a lifetime actually last a lifetime. I miss true craftsmanship, I miss the attention to detail and the dedication to quality. Perfect examples are my dad's old photography and archery equipment. Save for a several small dings, scratches they are still very much functional. Everything nowadays is disposable, it's scandalous how much we're paying for stuff that will last only a few years. And I don't just mean gadgets, clothes and shoes, too.  Have you ever bought a pair of shoes and after a few months you find the "leather" starting to peel and flake, or the sole has come off because it was only glued on? Ok, i hear you. Maybe it was a cheap pair, they were cost-cutting, you get what you pay for, it's not real leather, etc. But that's not always the case. Ive had a few pairs that were definitely not on the cheap side and they still fell apart like a jenga tower. Things are just not made the way they used to be and it's a really sad thing to realize that quality is set aside for profit.

It's sad and infuriating, but what i realized while washing my doggies' bowl before retiring for the day and thinking how absolutely herculean a task it is to meet my deadline is this: what does all this craziness trying to teach me? What can I glean from this? Maybe I can gain something positive from all this drama.

Yes, I am one of those people who try to see the glass as half full. I try, even if life makes it hard to do so.

I am still thinking.

How about you? Ever had one of those really crazy days/weeks/months/years you just want to sleep through or do-over? What did you learn from it? I'd love to hear your story and maybe we could share our misery and at least get a laugh and a lesson out of it. God knows the world needs more laughter.