November 12, 2003

Lucy Maud...

Montgomery, author of the "Anne of Green Gables" series used to say in her journal, ad nauseum, "Life feels flat, stale, and unprofitable." She might have been quoting somebody else - but that phrase appears in her diary, her novels, her short stories numerous times.

Clearly, it was a theme for her!

Anyway. I feel a bit like that today. I feel like a grumpy old mountain lion.

I have to admit I feel like everybody is stupid except for myself, and I am filled with the rightness of my own views. It's not a proud moment for me to admit this - but I have to say that it is so.

Jane Galt points to two posts today, which, serendipitously, exactly reflect this surly righteous mood. I laughed when I read them because I felt: Oh thank God. I'm not alone!

Here's an excerpt from one of the posts, by Poor Man:

I've noticed, recently, that people who disagree with me are stupid and dumb. I can't really believe they are as stupid and dumb as they seem, so I think they must be crazy as well.

Why are they so crazy? Well, any discussion of this would have to begin with how stupid and dumb they are. Imagine if you were so stupid and dumb that you actually disagreed with me, even when I was totally right? That would be enough to drive anyone crazy.

What I love about this - is that he is still able to write with humor and irony about his state of mind!

Maybe it's just burnout. A bit of news burnout.

I hate it when I get this way. It makes life very uninteresting if you think everybody else is a moron.

I have no patience. I have no tolerance. I am fed up.

I can't even write about it. Every news item pisses me off. I have a ton of things to say, but it's all name-calling.

Well - you get the picture.

I am seriously lacking in a sense of humor today. It is very unattractive. Steve, I give you my word that I will not be this grumpy when we meet for drinks tomorrow!

I need to regain some perspective. I need to stop thinking, stop reading the damn news, stop giving such a shit about every single nuanced thing that happens. I am tapped the f*** out.

Forgive me.

I will regain my spirits momentarily.

But I'll leave you with this: Nothing worse than a righteous person - no matter if you agree with that person or not. It's boring. It's a soapbox. It's predictable. I am boring myself right now.

And so - farewell.

Posted by sheila
Comments

The quote is from Hamlet: "How weary,
stale, flat and unprofitable, Seem to me all the uses of this world!"

We've all been there. Glad I made you laugh, if only by proxy.

Posted by: Jane Galt at November 12, 2003 06:18 PM

Well said, Sheila. That's the same reason I've been avoiding blogging, even for the (to some) obligatory announcement that I'll be taking a little vacation from the blog, for fear I couldn't even write that much without coming off too pissy.

That, and it looks like our 2 weeks of winter have arrived (i.e. an hour or so of rain every day for a fortnight) in SoCal, and I got da blues.

Posted by: Emily at November 12, 2003 07:33 PM

You mean everyone else isn't a moron? There are times I feel the same way about how unaware everyone else seems. Perhaps there is something to the old "ignorance is bliss" saying. I've been rather surly lately, mostly at work...trying not to let it show in my blogging. I've been having too many of those "why must I be surrounded by idiots" moments.

Posted by: Bill McCabe at November 12, 2003 09:34 PM

Hey! Another Lucy-Maud here! It was a happy day for me when I finally got my Ebay-ing hands on the hardcover copy of her final journal volume. I see them lined up on my bookshelf and feel happy and content. Yep, there's the yellow, the pink, the green and the blue. Mine all mine. LOL!

Posted by: Norahnick at November 12, 2003 10:18 PM

Don't worry, I'll try my best to cheer you up!

Posted by: Stephen Silver at November 13, 2003 12:02 AM

Hamlet. I should have guessed!

And to Norahnick: I, too, have my Lucy Maud journals lined up in a neat row ... they're a pretty bleak read, all in all, don't you think? Fascinating stuff though. Truly. What was the name of her great lost love again? Herman?

Thanks all for the kind words. Glad to know I am not the only one to go through such a thing...

Posted by: red at November 13, 2003 11:24 AM