matter of fact, she didn't even voice it (as far as I could tell) she just lifted up her hand and mouthed the words, "Thank" and "You".

They say that, in life, you experience turning points. Some for the better and some for the worse. In 2002 I was told in Mid-June I would start what was to be for me 7 years of Good Luck. And from that point on I did have some unusually good luck.

But 7 Years? Hardly.

I've decided that due to overwhelming evidence pointing to a specific date as the moment when all my "current" problems went into overdrive, I probably should have thought twice before deciding to turn 29.

Most people say, Hey it's not bad, You could be Thirty!!!

I say, hogwash.

This is that year that you feel is your last chance to accomplish something before plunging into into your 30's. And honestly that's only what's naturally bothering me.

Since I've turned 29, I've thrown out my back, had my girlfriend dump me, My job is cutting my hours back to z3r0. (a bunch of stuff I can't even talk about), and somehow with no work, I'm supposed to come up with a $1000 for a family vacation that begins in less than a month.

Now look. In real life I'm an optimist. Whereas I only play a Pessimist on (WEB)TV. But honestly I believe that you can't feel any better about your problems until you get depressed over them, actually grasp and understand them, and then you can come to terms with your plight, finally concieving some sort of plot to make things better.

But right now I just need to be upset. Because It's pretty shitty for me right now.

Valorie and I have decided not to break up but work out our problems, like responsible people. I went to a chiropractor and despite the fact I couldn't afford the FULL treatment, I paid what I could afford to get myself out of pain for the moment. And as far as the Job situation, if my current employer doesn't stop jerking me around, I'm actually going to take someone up on a job offer (despite the fact I don't have the money to buy myself a Tuxedo to work there). Whatever's clever, I'll make it work eventually.

But see, that's the key, a lot of people would simply get soooooo down they get maniacally depressed. Feeling that there's no way out. Losing all hope and giving up. Not me. If things get bad I know that they are eventually gonna get better. I just have to be proactive in making it happen. And if I try really hard and it still gets worse, well, I get depressed...

But I don't give up. I try again. Even if I'm burning energy I don't have and I'm overwhelmed by a sense of doom. Because, I'll still feel those same feelings if I'm not doing anything to better my situation, and I'm more likely to experience it for a longer period of time. Which really sucks if you've ever been THAT depressed.

So sometimes you have to focus on the small things that make your life happy and interesting.

Today, as I was driving Valorie to work, I pulled into the alleyway beside her workplace that empties out on the main drag, only to find that it was blocked by a large silver tourbus. Valorie had figured that it was simply waiting for a redlight, but in actuality it had stopped to drop some people off. As Valorie got out of the car, a casual but nicely dressed African-American woman stepped out of the bus and realized they were blocking me into the alleyway. She looked both ways and then at me holding up one finger as if to say, "We'll only be ONE second." She turned back towards the bus and beckoned her friends inside. Out came a white woman with Big Bushy Hair down to her shoulders and an even whiter woman who was considerably thin and had a platinum blond haircut comparative in length & style to Eminem.

As she turned to me, I remember having seen that Sting & Annie Lennox were touring together (A newspaper ad I had seen a day or so previous had informed me).

Rasing her hand in the polite "Sorry" way you give to people you almost run into with your car. She mouthed the words "Thank You" and made her way down the streets of Hillsboro Village.

Now, I'm not a huge fan, I enjoy her work, and in no way am I FREAKING OUT that Annie Lennox said "Thank You" to me.

But at the same time, it's just a neat little reminder that everyday something unique and oddly cool can happen to me at any moment.

It makes me stick around and see what happens next.

So, Boys and Girls, the moral of this story is..

IF YOU EVER FIND ME DEAD WITH A SUICIDE NOTE CALL THE POLICE AND TELL THEM I'VE BEEN MURDERED, BECUASE I HAVE NO INTENTIONS NOR WILL I EVER OF KILLING MYSELF.