Thursday, January 10, 2008

Coronation of the one-eyed man.

Sab·o·tage. Pronunciation: \ˈsa-bə-ˌtäzh\ Etymology: French, from 'saboter' to clatter with sabots. 3 a: an act or process tending to hamper or hurt b: deliberate subversion

I've been troubled with headaches lately. This morning I was pressing my hands against my eyes to relieve the ache a bit, but sadly I had put my glasses down on the duvet, whence they slipped to the floor without my noticing. I squinted down at the carpet myopically, then took a step back without thinking.

Crunch.

Now my entire day is going to be wasted, first searching feeling around the catastrophically messy laundry room for my old glasses, then going to the local very-crappy-optometrist's to either get contacts or get the broken ones fixed.

But I am not only here to bore you with trivia about my day, but to bore you with updates on my crafting.

Last night I made some progress on the Cap Shawl. That is, I knitted ten rounds and tinked six after discovering two inexplicable increase errors in what should have been blissfully easy knitting.

Since that wasn't going so well, I put it down and picked up Charlotte's Christmas stocking. After a couple of hours spent on that, I realized there was a chart error and I had done about 30 minutes' worth of work in the wrong colour. So I pulled it out and did it again.

With another wrong colour.

So then I went to bed. And what I'm here to ask you is this. Is there a malevolent fairy casting her powdered glass over whatever I set my hand to? Or, to lay the blame where it most probably belongs, do you believe that your state of mind can directly affect events in your life? Do you believe that a persistent nagging suspicion of your own incompetence can, in fact, undermine your competence?

I need Tony Robbins.

10 comments:

Brenda said...

Ah, Shan, that sucks. Days like those are better slept away, don't you think? Too bad we can't do that. I can't say how many times I've worked for hours on something only to discover it's the wrong color, wrong pattern, etc. I hate that!

Too bad about the headaches. Too much reading, close work? Or maybe you just need a massage. :) I swear by them.

knititch said...

oh it does affect what we do. i am sure about that. and it can become a vicious circle unless we straighten our backs.
maybe the headache is due to a flu coming up and then the eyes can hurt and needlepoint and knitting can be no good at all.
and some people tend to believe that we learn from our mistakes. i think i am of the opposite opinion or at least our victories is what empowers us.

Anonymous said...

I do have days where I can't seem to hold onto anything - where everything flies out of my grip, but I was putting those down to approaching arthritis or some kind neurological kink.

No wonder you have a headache. You need that guy who hawks exercise machines with his call of "You can dooooit!!"

Anonymous said...

As someone who knows the joys of glasses and only being able to afford one working pair at a time let me just say -- oh no!! That is so sucky. Have you had your eyes tested lately? When I start getting groups of headaches I usually know it's time for an eye-test.

Can we affect our lives with how we feel? YES!! Living with a condition that is totally affected by stress, I am learning what a bizarre ability our mind has to mess with us. Especially when we have expectations of ourselves and our performances/abilities.

I second Brenda. A good massage would be a good thing, and maybe some relaxation techniques -- whatever type works for you.

Gwen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Gwen said...

Better delete that last comment, lest someone come after me with a murderous weapon.

It's January, plain and simple. Christmas is over, the ground is hard/cold/soggy/brown, the pocketbook is slim and the sun is acting shy. You should go to a spa and cook for a while in an infrared sauna. Seriously. Even HRH Tony H. says so.

Yolanda said...

Sorry about the glassess. I have been there and its awful. I love the cross stich. It is beautiful.

Anonymous said...

Blech. Those kinds of days are awful. Here's to five inches of lace with no errors...

Stace' said...

My best remedy for migraines is a Diet Coke and 2 Goody or BC powders. That's what helped me get through a summer with West Nile induced Encephalitis.

At least you have your cool boots in, even if you can't see them!

Annalea said...

"Do you believe that a persistent nagging suspicion of your own incompetence can, in fact, undermine your competence?"

Absolutely.

Thoughts and one's state of mind most definitely impact events in one's life. There are plenty of people in many, many performing arts (as well as sports) who will affirm that vehemently. The way you think directly affects who you are and what fruit you bear.

My husband is a powerful example of this. He has recently begun to meditate daily, and make conscious decisions about his mental reactions to life. He has always been a hyper-efficient, thinking twelve steps ahead, rather high-strung type. And since he has started consciously deciding how to manage his thoughts, etc., he is a new man. It's wonderful.

Although, your way-off day might be more a function of poor blood flow to your head (or other headache-related physical stress), than negative thinking, negative thoughts and emotions can only compound whatever problems are around.