Short Days; Long Nights.

I shouldn't be superstitious. Believe it or not, that's actually not part of the official teachings of the Catholic church. Over the years, a lot of Catholics have adopted beliefs of their own, such as touching objects such as statues to tap into healing powers. There's no room for concepts like fate or luck within a belief system that acknowledges a supreme being with a plan. Yet, given my consistent, almost predictable bad luck, I have to wonder. If God is testing me, I'd hate to find out what he's been preparing me for these past 33, almost 34 years.

Monday was an uncharacteristically lucky day. It's been a rough month or so at work. Every year at this time, our company comes up with new concepts that will be used in mailings throughout the year. Now that I've been there over a year myself, I've been given one of these assignments, on top of my regular workload. As odds often defy my expectations, this test proved easier than my regular assignments, and I found myself with back-to-back challenging ads, the details of which would bore the casual reader. But by Monday, it seemed like I was finally done, and everyone was happy. “You should frame those!” suggested one of my writers after we received complementary e-mails on a job well done. I just smiled, knowing from experience that if one takes credit, one must also be prepared to take blame. It's best to accept complements quietly and humbly, and be ready for the inevitable pitfall around the corner.

Monday hardly seemed like a Monday, and as I drove home lost in thought, I almost didn't see the shape in the road ahead of me. Something small and dark darted across the street. I was far enough back that it made it to safety, and as I slowed down to look, there on the steps of an imposing electrical plant sat a black cat, looking over its shoulder. Our eyes met, and I sensed her triumph. She crossed my path safely, but what effect would this have on my luck? I hoped that such a superstition, if true, would be canceled out by my already legen--wait for it--dary bad luck. No such luck...

On Tuesday I learned that the ads that had been approved on Monday needed further revisions after some more people reviewed them. Also our assignment logs had been rearranged, due to one of the staff being on jury duty, and I discovered my next assignment was going to be harder than the one I was originally slated for. Outside it was cold and raining, with a chance for snow flurries. By Wednesday we'd even have some hail. I planned to buy some new sneakers on my lunch break since the heel of one of my old ones had finally cracked and dug a hole in my ankle, but I only had time to run out quickly for a bite to eat.

Things calmed down by the afternoon, and I opted to hit Payless before the gym. It took me awhile to find a decent pair that I liked, and when I got to the register the girl asked me to wait while she mumbled something about cracking open a new roll of pennies. I asked her to repeat what she said, and she explained that she still owed me a penny. For one cent, I told her not to worry about it, and headed back out into the freezing rain.

As I climbed into my car, I heard a clattering sound in the distance. At the far end of the lot, a shopping cart was careening wildly, caught in the wind, and headed straight out into the street! It must have hit a pothole or something as it came to a sudden stop, only a few feet from certain disaster. I pondered whether I could leave it there in good conscience, having witnessed its perilous passage. It would be one thing if something happened and I wasn't around to see it, but I had seen it. Locking the new shoes in the car and zipping my jacket tight, I made my way across the dark and windy lot.

As I reached for the wagon, headlights blinded me as a car veered into the lot, dodging the wagon and, as a result, myself. I knew the wagon couldn't stay there and was glad I was doing something about it. I grabbed the handles and pulled, but the thing was stubborn. Did it have some antitheft wheel lock? We were still in the lot, and not that far from the supermarket. I pushed it and it rolled about an inch, then locked up again. Clearly some metal around the wheels had broken and twisted, making it very hard to roll. I carried it for a bit, struggling to lift the wet metal. I popped a wheelie to see if it rolled better on two wheels. This would work for about a foot before the front crashed back down and the wagon stopped short while I walked into it. I fought and struggled and finally got it up on the sidewalk. A few more feet and I got it locked in with the rows of wagons outside the store. Shivering and wet, my hands blistered, I stumbled back to the car and made my way to the gym.

Wednesday was a little bit better, and I have to think that all the unlikely problems I hit on Tuesday had nothing to do with a black cat crossing my path. Wednesday evening had a slight wrinkle, as Knight Rider was preempted by an infomercial by some guy with a questionable amount of funds buying a presidential election or something. Apparently it was on most networks, which is weird since that's almost like a media bias. At this point I can't be bothered by politics though. I'll vote for my candidates, and if they lose I'll shrug and hope for better luck in 2012. And Knight Rider was no big loss, as ABC was the one network that didn't sell airtime to one candidate, and aired a bright new episode of Pushing Daisies instead.

Who knows, maybe my luck will get better after all....