Hope for Every Bad Mood

I've been chronically in a bad mood for about 2 weeks now. Don't ask me why. I don't know why. I have just been in a bad mood.

I know. It's not nice.

I knooooow.

It's not attractive.

But what can I say?

It's the truth.

I've been in a bad mood for a couple of weeks now.

No, I'm not depressed.

I'm just in a bad mood.

I know one thing that's put me in a bad mood...my cell phone. At completely unpredictable times, it sounds really "static-ey" and the person on the other end cannot hear me. It is soooo annoying, and it drives me nuts!

So today I went to the Verizon store. Remember...I'm in a bad mood already, so I'm fully ready for some confrontation with the first person with a name tag who crosses my path. I go in and "check in" which mean I must log on to a little touch-screen computer and sign up for trouble shooting. They put my name up on a tv screen, listed in order according to the order we "check in". I am #4. Great. Just great. How long will the wait be? An hour? Two?

"Feel free to look around while you wait (smile, smile, blink, blink)" the happy little door greeter says to me. Don't get too close, little girl, or I just might snatch you bald!

Look around while I wait.

What choice do I have, really? There are no chairs in the waiting area. Ugh.

While I wait, I observe the manager-type person instruct a waiting customer to go home and call Verizon's customer service line. Wait a minute!!!! Aren't there live customer service people here? This is a Verizon store, for Heaven's sake!

Next I saw the same manager-lady put another customer on a land line phone and made him call customer service. Something's wrong with this picture. Bad.

About 40 minutes later, a straggly-hair, hippie type with major yankee/smoker-voice called my name. I walk up to her station. She asks me what she can do for me today. Let me just tell you, sister. I proceed to tell her about the problem with my phone, when, about halfway through my second sentence, she interrupts me to ask my phone number. I tell her my phone number. Then she asks me again...what's wrong with my phone. Again, half-way through my second sentence, her phone rings, she says to me, "excuse me please," and answers her phone.

I just stand there and look at her. Hello....Lady....I'm a real live customer. Can't you put the caller on hold??? Hello...Smoker-voice lady....hello!

She sees me staring at her, so she motions for me to give her my phone. She piddles with my phone while she "yes's, no's, and uh-huh's" the caller on the phone.

Lady, you better get off that phone or I'm gonna jump over your counter in about 3 seconds...

A the count of 2 1/2, she finally hangs up the phone.

"Mam, it looks like your phone is still under warranty, so I can get you a new one. I will take about 5 minutes," she says to my great surprise!

Oh, thank you lady. You don't know it, but you were about to get punched, and I really am not in the mood to get arrested today.

My mood was a little better then. I was really expecting to have to question and complain to get a new phone.

New. Well, the phone she gave me wasn't exactly new. It was certified refurbished. Like-new.

Okay. I'll take it. Would rather have had brand-new-never-been-opened, but I'll take this one.

I finally drive home, check the mail, and GUESS WHAT!

There's a $50 check in the mail!

YIPPEE!!!

I recently had a routine test performed at the hospital as ordered by my oncologist. The hospital required $175 payment for the co-pay on the day of the test. Last week, I got the statement from my insurance which said that $123 was billable by the hospital, $0 paid by insurance, and that I owed $0 to the hospital...which says to me that I overpaid the hospital. I haven't had the opportunity to call the hospital yet, but that situation was also boiling in my brain and had been contributing to my bad mood.

Thank Heavens it worked out! The hospital did do the right thing and I didn't have to punch a single person!

Yippee!

Good Mood is back!

But here's my question...

If just a couple of good things happening can put me in a such a good mood, what would happen if I truly did just focus on the blessings in my life?

More importantly, what would happen if I refused to dwell on the little irritations in life which are totally out of my control?

How much energy to I put into feeding my bad moods versus fueling a positive outlook?

I hate to ask the age-old question, but...is the glass half-empty or half-full?

My glass is completely full.

Running over, in fact.

There's hope for every bad mood.

Indeed.