Harold survives a rough week.

Congratulations to my friend Tun, whose wife just gave birth to the couple’s first child–a healthy baby boy–last Friday. Hopefully, I won’t remember much of anything else that happened last week.

My week started out with my then-latest freelance article getting a larger-than-normal dose of criticism on one of the largest fansite forums. And, as usual, the criticism came from people who wanted to find any little thing to pick on and/or from people who simply didn’t know what they were talking about. Considering that I do have a day job, I only get so much time to put into any given article, folks, so cut me a little slack…especially when you haven’t bothered to analyze the article in a well thought-out manner.

When Wednesday rolled around, I got into my first ever car accident as a driver. Traffic had come to a halt in a hurry ahead of me, so I flashed my brakes quickly and then hit the brakes in time to avoid the car in front. Just when I thought the car behind me had stopped as well, I felt myself lurch forward as I saw shards of my left taillight whiz forward onto the asphalt. After assessing myself to make sure I hadn’t broken into pieces as well, I turned around and noticed a guy hop out of a very badly damaged Ford Taurus with a cellphone already glued to his ear. Only afterwards did I notice the poor car that got sandwiched between my car and his and pushed into the carpool lane. Fortunately no one sustained injuries, as far as I know, but yeah…people who get into traffic accidents while on the phone should get the DUI treatment.

Friday, my spirits had risen considerably after corresponding with a writer whose creative nonfiction blog had inspired an adjustment to my writing style for the article I submitted earlier in the week (published today). But then Saturday, just to twist the screws a bit more, an old pair of athletic shoes disintegrated while I tried to get some exercise, forcing me to walk home with the sole of one shoe held on by shoelaces. In all fairness, the shoes had sat in a box and gone unworn for a few years, but still…I’ve never seen even old shoes fall apart this badly, particularly when I rarely wore them before that day.

Anyway, a new week and, soon, a new month will hopefully bring better times and fun adventures.

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