I have no one to blame but myself.

Dear OB,

Ya gotta start finding ways to be busy, busy, busy. From morning to night, start finding LOTs of interesting and fun stuff to do. Chances are, you’ll start running into some really interesting people doing all the same things.

If whatsisname calls again, tell him ONCE that it’s not working, it’s over, wish him well, say a polite goodbye, and be DONE with him. And don’t answer any more calls, texts or emails.

And get going on all that other stuff.

Be far too busy to have time for anyone who doesn’t treat you with basic decency.

Now get off the computer and get on with something way more interesting in your life.

**

Have you ever heard about the Japanese method for getting out of a funk?

Clean, organize, and deal with every single physical object in your home. Every piece of scrap paper. Every old pen cap and elastic in your junk drawer. Every old souvenir from where ever. Every old school project/textbook/novel. Old cards, photographs, and letters. Every piece of clothing, craft supplies, and kitchen ware. If you love it, then clean it/repair it and display/store it properly.

The key to this exercise is to physically touch every single physical thing and notice how you feel about it. If it makes you happy to have it, keep it. If it gives you even the tiniest twinge of sadness or a weird negative feeling, then sell it, give it away, recycle it, or throw it out. Getting rid of small things that drag you down, helps you feel more confident about making larger changes. You pick something up, hold it in your hand, look at it, and make a choice. Yes . . . No . . . Yes . . No . . . over and over again until you’ve made a conscious decision about every single item you own.

Take as much time as you need. Set a timeline, like, say 6 months. Do this fully and completely, and your outlook on yourself and your place in the world will be radically changed, I promise.

If that’s too much of a project to commit to today, then start smaller. Go into 1 room and find 10 distinct items that you can throw out–a dried up marker, an old magazine, half-used makeup that isn’t your colour (again, start with the junkiest stuff). Do this again in the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, etc. Sometimes, it’s really hard to find 10 things to throw out, but even if you get rid of a few pieces of real crap, your day has been improved.

Trust me on this. It is an amazing thing.

: )

Oh, well, I’ll try to be more atrocious next time . . .