Hanging Back
Every year I try to get my hands on a copy of the Takashima Ekidan so I can find out what the next year has in store for me. The one for 2007 said that this wasn’t going to be my year:
(from the official Takashima Ekidan website)
This year’s fortune: Decline
Academics: Academic work will be stagnant, and rejection from schools is likely
Work: Optimism is forbidden. Make no unnecessary moves. Secure any capital.
Romance: Beware of getting entangled in frivolous affairs.
Finance: You may get caught in an evil scheme. Don’t swallow sweet talk. Gambling and borrowing will bring disaster.
Health: Moderate your food intake. Watch out for trouble stemming from alcohol consumption and staying up late at night.
Basically, the whole thing is a big ol’ “STAY HOME” message (in fact, that’s made explicit in my 2007 bagua, which tells which directions are favorable or disastrous; ALL my directions were “disastrous”).
So it’s probably no surprise that work on my dissertation is, well, stagnant. Or that I’m feeling tired because I stay up too late. Or that I feel icky because my eating is all out of whack.
And it’s probably no real surprise that even though I’ve contacted two therapists so far, nothing has come of it. The first one said she’d get back to me “sooner rather than later,” and that was over a week ago. The other one never responded to the message I left on his office answering machine.
It’s a good thing I’m not suicidal. And that I have no money to give to the email scammers.
