les blahs
Lately, the only thing keeping my blood pumping through these tired veins is espresso and music. Seems I’ve caught a case of the February blahs. Not to be confused with the blues. I’m not sad or depressed or morose. I’m not hopeless with a bleak outlook on life. I’m just blah. Desaturated. Dim. Flat.
At this particular moment in time, if I were a scent, I’d be tap water. If I were a taste, I would be iceberg lettuce or bread, toasted dry with nothing on it (not even a suggestion of burnt). If I were a paint chip, I’d be boring beige, hospital green or cubicle gray. If I were a sound, I would be meh or one of those long sad dog sighs. If I were a number, I’d be the square root of zero. A letter? B. For blah, bland, bored, banal. A month? This one. Except that I would officially rename February to Feblahry. A day? Tuesday. Tuesdays are useless days. Mondays at least suck. Wednesday is the midpoint, Thursday, the night before Friday, Friday is the beginning of the weekend, Saturday is the best and Sunday is rest (that came across as awful 3rd grade poetry but this is what happens in Feblahry – the brain, she stops functioning). If I were a shape, I’d be a blob. If I were a DJ, I’d be DJ Drab. A crayon – the ugliest crayon in the box. That unsightly skin colored one that nobody uses. Peach renamed from Flesh, I believe. Urk. Flesh. Who names a crayon flesh? I hate that word.
Um! You get the point, right? I’m blaaaaaahhhhhhhh.
Given the choice between doing something or nothing, I would rather choose the latter. Even those things that usually bring me so much joy are lukewarm these days. They have lost their shine, their luster, leur goût. Mainly because they take too much effort. Can’t I just stay home, watch bad tv and eat popcorn all day or read photography magazines and travel guides to Italy in a steaming bath until I get prune fingers and wrinkled toes? I would be happy just lying on the couch with my feet up on the hot radiator, daydreaming for hours on end.
So if you see me with a blank look on my face, please move along. I’ve gone to the happy places in my head and I’m not sure when I’ll be back. It’s healthy, I think. At least, far better than shouting from the rooftop “F-off Feb funk and the dark horse you came riding in on.”
What do you do to fight the blahs?
wonderingsandwanderings.com 
OMG this is so brilliantly written and captures my thoughts exactly! It had me cracking up – LOVE the iceberg lettuce and long dog sigh.
Happy Feblahry to you. 🙂
The perfect Feblahry post! Best way to fight the blues: throw a “Fuck February” party: Hawaiian shirts & flower leis, loud summer party music, drinks with umbrellas in.
Oh I like the idea of a FF party. I might have to borrow that!
I could not live my life without music and good coffee. My coffee never changes, for I have found my taste in it, but my music changes with my seasons (as noted in my last post on my blog).
this post is brilliant.
it made me giggle…in recognition.
as for a few of my blah remedies: stepping outside, into the fresh air (even if/when it’s bone chilling, gray & all), gets me out of my head & i find magic & clarity every time; doing a task (any task, even hangin’ up my bath towel) with care*full attention; and, puttin’ on a song & shakin’ my booty.
warmly,
gem
feel better knowing that i’m not bla-lone.
the one thing getting me through is our flight to charles de gaulle airport next saturday evening. if i’m going to be caught up in the gray of february, at least let it be in paris and london!
hope your weekend skies are blue.
… i think about my gorgeous new Canadian friend who is coming to stay in march… i plan the fun things we’re going to do and places we’ll go 🙂
oh yeah i am with you. i bake and then i eat and then i need to bake more so i can eat more. yes this is not a good cycle. someone help me!!!!!
I make a surprise. This year it was a surprise for my sister, Chris. I told her two weeks ago to block off a Saturday in Feblahary (love it!) because I was picking her up in the morning and spiriting her away for the day. So, for two weeks she got to wonder and I got to torment her. Haha. And the day was great. We went to a farmer’s market, then eagle watching, then lunch, back to downtown Halifax to pick out a birthday present for Chris’s daughter, then went to a blues matinee for dancing . We got back to Chris’s at about 8:30PM, had some wine so I stayed for the night, got up early, and now I’m home.
Feblahry says it all doesn’t it? I likes that word a lot. I think we’re all in the same boat. I have to say though that one of the things I do to get out from under all that funk is read your hilarious blogs. How can I not completely crack up? And then how can I feel blah when I’m rolling on the floor with laughter? Impossible. So thanks for helping to break up this dull (albeit mild) day. 🙂
This past week, to combat my blahs, I read the first three books in the “Twilight” series (yes, I know I’m like 2 years behind) and saw “Slumdog Millionaire.” Fabulous movie!
WOW
brilliant and that TOP PHOTO– oh MAN!!!! love it love it!!
this was quite inspired and inspiring– fyi
I seek out folks who know how to take their blahs, and play with it like a drab piece of silly putty, and mold it into something creative that can’t help but touch others and leave them with a smile.
Thanks for the smile. 🙂
Brilliant second paragraph…and quite viral, too. Taking a feeling and associating it with a color, scent, food, number, etc., would make for an excellent writing exercise with my students in class. May I? And can I use your piece as an example?
Kudos.
…and no, I will not let the little urchins know where you post…and I will not proceed without permission. It just seems like a fun way to fight the blahs this week in class. The students just finished writing pieces personifying abstract nouns, and this would make for a good extension.
coffee and a good book oh and a week away to canada’s version of tropical ~ well at least there is lush green grass 😉
xox
Oh I have been fighting this in a big way. The Blahs have been banging on my door and I won’t let them in. No no no no … so I have been talking luxurious baths with candles and animating essential oils, making spicy indian and thai food to keep the blood pumping and the rosy in my cheeks, hurling myself out into the deep deep snow for photos, exercise and good air, and making out. That always puts a spring in my step! 🙂
you just described exactly how i feel lately.. i love your analogies.
hopefully once the winter starts to thaw out, we’ll thaw out as well..
head up lady :o)
xo
hahaha, hilarious.
I just found your wonderful blog from your flickr page and I don’t remember how I even ended up there. Love your flicker and blog both.
Yup, I get those!who doesn’t? I usually go with it. I know I’ll snap out of it eventually (pms only lasts so long).
And lovely writing once again!