Ugh. I’m having one of those days where everything is going ridiculously wrong. If I maintain any religious faith at all in my life, it comes from those days when it seems clear that a supernatural agency is out to get me.
I woke up this morning to the news that my CAREER award proposal was rejected. Last year I had all ‘excellent’ reviews save for one lone ‘good’ dissenter. After revising my proposal to take into account criticisms from that first round, I actually got significantly worse reviews this time around.
Yesterday, I saw that my windshield had developed a crack in it. Since this morning, it has grown by about 1/2 inch, which probably means I’ll be paying for a replacement very soon.
I went to spend my troubles away at Best Buy, and got stuck in a ridiculously long line of about 10 people, since only one register was open. On my way back to the office, I found that the road to my research building was suddenly under construction, requiring me to drive around the entire campus to get back to work.
On top of this, today is my ‘teach from 5-7:30 pm’ day at the office, so things ain’t getting better. Ugh.
Skulls in the Stars 
Bummer…
I sense an evening of Riff Trax and tequila in your future. I recommend a thorough trashing of The Happening. Once you’ve seen it, for the rest of your life you can always say, “Well, at least I didn’t direct The Happening.”
Seriously, though, the career grant thing sucks.
PD – We watched HellBoy 2 and ate popcorn instead of drinking tequila. I think that improved Dr. Skullstars mood.
PD: Also, the Rifftrax guys already did The Happening. They can clearly sense blood in the water…
Dr. Skullstars: I knew about The Happening Riff Trax because I’d already watched a clip. I have also (unfortunately) seen the movie without the added commentary… unless you count the audience groans. Truly it is one of the most disappointing films I can think of. (You may need to start a new list.) That being said, their is something awe-inspiring about watching a skilled film maker rev up their talent to high gear, then steer the project into a tree at top speed. The Happening deserves a special place in the history of malformed masterpieces, right along with Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula.
And one more thing: Here’s a sincere, but maybe kinda sappy quote that I just heard on Writers on Writing:
“When I’m out there, and I have a bad day, I know at some level that’s going to be okay, because that’s going to be more interesting to write about than the good day.”—Ted Conover, author of New Jack: Guarding Sing Sing.