It was worth a shot, I thought. I decided to give it a try; open a website operated by a Canadian media company, in an attempt to avoid the constant barrage of desperately-negative news from U.S. media companies. Almost immediately, my decision seemed to have paid off: a link to a Globe & Mail article entitled, “The tried and tested way to stay happy: small doses of spontaneity.” But when I clicked on the link, my heart sunk. Instead of the text of the article, I got this message: Join a national community of curious and ambitious Canadians. Just $0.99 per week for your first 24 weeks. So, you CAN buy happiness…and at a discount, no less. But, after having taken advantage of similar offers from the Boston Globe, the New York Times, and others, I decided I already had taken enough advantage of several deals from generous media companies. But I noticed several other interesting links that merit exploration, including Happy Enough, which is a soon-to-come podcast from the Globe & Mail about happiness. Hell, it might well be worth the $0.99 per week for 24 weeks to look into the article behind the paywall. And, when I searched the newspaper’s website, I found 492 links to articles in which happiness was a primary topic. Hmm. I’ll have to think about it a bit longer, but I’m beginning to lean toward making the investment—or simply spending the money, if that’s what it is—if it offers a chance at happiness in a very sad world. A “trite” aphorism contained in a letter-to-the-editor, though, gave me pause in my consideration of where to look for happiness: ‘Success is getting what you want, and happiness is wanting what you get.’ I’m much more interested in happiness than in success.
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Last night, shortly before 9 PM, I was awakened by the sound of my phone ringing on my bedside nightstand (yes, still sleeping around the clock). The caller was the technician who handles my PET-scans, telling me the clinic would be closed today, due to ice and sleet and snow, so my scheduled PET-scan would be delayed again. As much as I want to get the scan done and learn the results, I had been hoping for a cancellation; I hate driving on black-ice. So, the news was good. The technician said he could reschedule my scan while we were on the phone, but I opted to wait (I was groggy and worried I might not get the information right for my calendar). I’ll reschedule soon, hoping I can get it done next week. In the meantime, I will go back to bed shortly in an attempt to recover some of my interrupted sleep. I woke this morning at just before 4 AM; already, I am so tired I am having a tough time keeping my eyes open. The outdoor temperature when I woke was 14°F; it has warmed by one degree since then to a balmy 15°F, The next few days are expected to be monstrously cold. Thanks to last night’s ice and snow, and temperatures that will remain below freezing, the roads will be treacherous, and I will plan on remaining indoors.
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My cold and bad sore throat continue to make me feel a little worse than rotten. Time for me to suck on a cough drop that contains “anesthetics” to make the pain in my throat a little more tolerable. I haven’t had such a bad cold in at least the last two or three years. Perhaps I should drink a little whiskey, too. But maybe I’ll wait until after sunrise.
