Now today is January 24th, which is apparently officially the most depressing day of the year! A British scientist called Cliff Arnell sat down and did a bunch of mathematical calculations which concluded that January 24th sucks the big one because of its distance from Christmas, summer, bank holiday weekends and its proximity to massive credit card bills and that tasty little Jan 31st tax return deadline (have YOU done YOURS yet? Thought not!)
But, hey, what do stupid scientists know? What's your most depressing day of the year? Are you, too, feeling suffused with gloom today? Or has the sparkling frost and gleaming sun put a happy little spring in your step?
Or perhaps, for you, the most depressing day of the year could mark one of the following:
the death of a loved one
the day you declared yourself bankrupt
a break-up of the only relationship which really mattered
the day your business went bust after five years of investment the day your kitten ran under the wheels of your very own bicycle
the day your realised you would never, ever, ever finish that novel, and that even if you did, no one would publish it anyway
the day your full-term baby died after three previous consecutive miscarriages
the day you saw your father beating your mother round the head with an iron
- why, there are so many reasons to be fed up, on so many different days of the year! Jan 24th, most depressing day of the year? Prove it! Let's do a survey? What day really makes you flinch each time it turns around? When's your personal Jan 24th? Or maybe you've got more than one (I know I have!) Let's share those precious memories! What's your special day?
(edit: Can I just say that I think the layout of this particular topic starter post is fucking awesome? I mean, not to big myself up or anything, but look at it! We have an image, we have a bullet pointed list, we have a relevant and useful link, the text is broken up into easily legible paragraphs, and there's a question in bold at the end. Man I rule.)
posted
I saw on TV that apparently yesterday was the most depressing day, but I (or they) obviously got that one wrong.
This time of year for me is just depressing - impossible to get out of bed in the morning, tired all the time and just feeling 'meh' - complete lathargy, procrastination overdrive and a general 'can't be arsed to do anything' attitude. I am convinced I have S.A.D. as I always get like this - see me come summertime and I am up with the larks with the promise of being on the terrace by 4.30 after work to watch the pretty people go by.
But what can I do about it? S.A.D. is a Syndrome, and being not one of a physical or extreme mental disorder, most doctors tend not to take you too seriously - after all there are far more important illnesses out there so I just will myself to get on with it. I rest assured that slowly but surely the days are getting longer, and even like now any bit of Sunshine, even if it is -3 degrees outside, I cherish and use as a reminder that in a few more weeks the ladies will start wearing less, the vondelpark will be filling with the sun worshippers - and then I just get depressed as I will be stuck in a fucking office block while they chill, drinking beer and life watching - just the stuff I love doing.
Failing that, I just stick on some happy tunes on the iPod, shut out the world outside and dream of the good to come.
You have to stay positive, else you may as well just chuck it all in, right?
posted
Am I a freak in not having a particular date that is particularly depressing? I can't even remember the dates when people have died, pets run over or jobs failed. Whether I feel depressed on a particular day depends totally on the circumstances of the moment. A sunny June bank holiday when I'm rolling in money can be more depressing than a dank January pauper day.
At least this blandly cheerful reply has risen the reply count to '1', thus making 24 Jan just that little bit less depressing for London.
posted
hold up! I though the most depressing day of the year was yesterday. I spent the evening getting spanked at Mariokart by McAndrew, and touching myself while watching a Bella Xvid - two things that are guaranteed to bring pleasure.
I don't have any memorable days really. I don't remember dates. Summer Solstice reminds me of going to raves and taking large amounts of designer drugs, but it 's usually just a few moments of idle daydreaming rather than spending any time thinking seriously about it. I can't think of any other ones, apart from my birthday, that have ever meant anything.
posted
Ok to clear up the disagreement I found this whilst googling:
quote:He used a similar method to work out 24 January was the most depressing day.
The equation Dr Arnall devised to find the happiest day, in work commissioned by ice cream maker Walls, was O + (N x S) + Cpm/T + He.
Within that, O stands for being outdoors and outdoor activity, N for nature, S for social interaction, Cpm for childhood summers and positive memories, T for temperature and He for holidays and looking forward to time off.
(From the BBC last year)
So with mathematics being a constant, by simple use of logic, you can defeat it by simply going somewhere warm for a few days - some leave (He), warm weather and outside pursuits (T and O, with some N, and no doubt lashings of S) should sort you all out a treat.
quote:Originally posted by Dr. Benway: cheer up London - a little bird tells me that you're meeting somebody tonight who most people would love a chance to get to talk to!
posted
I find my birthday quite depressing. I've never enjoyed it. Once, quite close to my parents divorce, they actually forgot my birthday. I waited all day, thinking they had a surprise planned but no...then they had a massive row about whose fault it was.
Then, just to prove to me that my birthday is a BAD day, some terrorists flew planes into buildings. I was quite pleased, because now everyone knows that Sept 11th is a bit of a fucked up day.
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posted
I don't really have any depressing days that are etched into the calender. I never remember the dates of stuff that happened, and I never know what day it is anyway, so it's hard for me to get down in the dumps thinking "Oh god - it was three years ago today that..."
Having said that, Valentines day is coming up, which I never really like. It's easily the most sinister and insidious of the invented card sending occasions (I noticed a couple of years ago that Clintons had invented yet another called 'Passover' - who the hell's going to go with that). I hate feeling like I'm being railroaded into anything, and there's an awful sense of co-ercion that hangs over V-Day like a smothering blanket. Even last year, when I'd started going out with Octavia, who also hates Valentine's day, people would respond to this information with, "Oh well she says that - but you'll get in trouble if you don't do anything!" It makes you feel boxed in. Worse, is when people say "Well I think it's nice - set one day of the year aside to treat your partner." Whu? What do you do the rest of the year? Come straight home from work and immediately throw them down the stairs?
Finally, there's an odd gap in my memory from valentines 2004. This would have been pretty much zero-hour for my relationship with Rose Davis, when it all fell apart, and I cannot remember a single thing about the 14th Feb. I can picture the days around it really clearly, but just cannot pin down that day. It makes me wonder whether I did something terrible and just blotted it out. Maybe i shot her or something.
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posted
Aha! A special day is one day before my hated birthday, 10th September. That's the day I had my first 'date' with my gf, and we're getting married this April.
quote:Originally posted by Roy: Then, just to prove to me that my birthday is a BAD day, some terrorists flew planes into buildings. I was quite pleased, because now everyone knows that Sept 11th is a bit of a fucked up day.
Well at least someone lit you a couple of candles.
ETA maybe not carrying round significant dates in your head to drag you down a few times a year makes up for keeping physical detritus of the past, rather than ditching it, Ben-style. Maybe it's either/or: you either have physical or mental past baggage.
posted
I have a real knack for remembering dates. I think it's because I keep a diary as well, so if I can't remember something exactly then it's easy to flick back and pinpoint it to the day. 17 March, sad thing which happened when I was 20 which I shan't go into. 23 August, date Jake and I met when I was 17 and which we celebrated as our anniversary each year and now just makes me shudder. 20 December - has both good and bad connotations, because a bad thing happened on this day one year, and then a good thing the year after. 21/22/23 December - new entries into the Calendar of Shitness, thanks to those three days before Christmas last year. And, er, oh, Easter generally. And May generally. In fact, all fucking year. Gah.
posted
i'm quite happy actually. after the total fucking shitness of thursday night, the weekend was really lovely. and teh post office 'lost' another parcel and i didnt even feel like blowing up the fucking place the *****. i hope the government privatises the royal mail and sells of postman flesh to npower. i piss on you i fucking piss on you postman pat and your black and white cat Posts: 5190
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H1ppychick
We all prisoners, chickee-baby. We all locked in.
posted
My birthday is February 14
-------------------- i'm expressing my inner anguish through the majesty of song Posts: 4243
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posted
I was trying to think of Depressing Dates, and recalled that for a fair few years after 02/02/89 I mourned the death of my hamster Poppy- the first pet death that totally devestated me. I hated Thursdays for years after that as well.
I usually get more depressed in Summer- hideous oppressive heat, choking fumes, fat red-seared wobbling Britflesh in my face everywhere, having to shave my legs every day, bikinis, horrible pastel shades in the shops etc etc- I moan about this every year. I get irritable/depressed about this totally annoying expectation that because it's sunny you're supposed to be cheerful.
Oh, I've thought of something- the birthday of my oldest friend, whom I lost touch with at uni when she turned into a mental slag, still makes me feel a bit sad.
-------------------- What I object to is the colour of some of these wheelie bins and where they are left, in some areas outside all week in the front garden. Posts: 4941
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Octavia
I hate Valentine's Day. Stupid commercialised crap
posted
I object to being told what to think by purveyors of a 'holiday' designed by papermill-owners to fill the profit gap after Christmas. Painting it pink and wrapping it in chocolate doesn't make naked moneygrubbing any more palatable.
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posted
I don't think anything bad has ever happened to me I mean, bad stuff happens continuously (job-hunting, 3 months and counting ) but not bad events all on one day. I am surprised and a little troubled by this revelation, I shall have to think some more about it.
I do have a good memory for dates though, like I know that VP has the same birthday as me, and I think that Physic may also be around the same time. I also remember the birthdays of a lot of my primary school classmates, which makes me remember them all throughout the year. I can also remember the dates that I went on various holidays even though there is no benefit in knowing.
You would think that these mad rainman skills should have got me a job, eh.
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Louche
Carved TMO on her clit just to make you feel bad
posted
I'm shite at dates apart from my own birthday and Dad Death Date. I even forgot my Mum's birthday last year. She cried on me. Stupid lame cow. Dad Death Date is etched onto brain for obvious reasons and for the first couple of years after I turned into a complete psycho case 24 hours before, reverting to 'normal' approximately 3 hours after. Then I kind of chilled out with it for a bit until 9 years on when I forgot the fucking thinking and had a total mental breakdown for being a bad daughter. That was fun.
I'm not finding this January particulary depressing. It's quite a nice January. Fluffy. Blanket-wrapping cold and rosy cheek sparkle frosted.
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posted
Far and away the most depressing day of my year is February 23rd. That's because on that date four years ago, I lost my wife.
She'd been ill for quite some time and so the end was not unexpected. We -- that is my son and I -- just thought we would have some more time with her. A few more months would have been good. Enough time for her to see him come through his transplant operation, healthy and strong. Enough time for her to see him start junior school. To ride his first bike. To fly his first kite. To cheer and clap alongside me as I watched him compete in his first swimming race. To see the flush of pride in his face when he finished. He didn't care that he didn't win. He doesn't understand winning and losing yet -- just the thrill of the race. Of taking part in something bigger than himself.
A few more months. A few more days. Another hour together. I'd gladly lay down my life to give my son another minute with her.
The doctors tried to help me explain it to him. They talked calmly and he listened, but at six it was more than he could grasp. I don't think he fully understands even now.
Sometimes I don't understand it either.
On February 23rd 2002 my wife died and so did my one chance at true happiness in this life.
quote:Originally posted by Octavia: I object to being told what to think by purveyors of a 'holiday' designed by papermill-owners to fill the profit gap after Christmas. Painting it pink and wrapping it in chocolate doesn't make naked moneygrubbing any more palatable.
lol.
that's cool. i can be single on valentine's day and console myself with the knowledge that it doesn't mean a thing, it's just hallmark.
ditto christmas.
and mum can fuck right off on mother's day. no way am i falling for that.
Quote ====== "What have I been doing this year? Being miserable. Getting drunk. Going into hospital. Dying. Joining an internet bulletin board. Hello."
Come on My Name is Joe, keep up.
[ 24.01.2006, 12:49: Message edited by: Ghost of George ]
quote:Originally posted by Ghost of George: I'd gladly lay down my life to give my son another minute with her.
This makes no sense, whatsoever. Firstly, you'd be subjecting your son to sixty seconds with a zombie, which would be, frankly, terrifying. Secondly, when the minute was up your son would be an orphan. I don't think you've really thought this through.
quote:Originally posted by jonesy999: Your tear-jerking revelation post got pretty much ignored, George. I want to say something supportive but can't think what.
I guess it got pretty much ignored because I'm new. That's cool, that's how these things go. Soon I won't be new and more people may reply if I say something worthwhile.
Unfortunately, in this case, I think I may have misjudged the mood of the discussion and people didn't really know how to take what I said.
London sounded pretty down, but then everyone didn't seem to respond too personally, they just said "Pick yourself up". Then Dr Benway said that he felt really positive, and I know that his character on the boards is generally quite negative, so I thought that people were like, you know, mixing it up a bit. So I tried to come up with a really depressing story, and then add a twist by saying it was bitter sweet because we beat Liverpool. It was an attempted at humour.
And now I feel bad because you were kind of sympathetic. Sorry forum. I thought my (sick) joke would be revealed when I made the second post about the football.
quote:Originally posted by Black Mask: This makes no sense, whatsoever. Firstly, you'd be subjecting your son to sixty seconds with a zombie, which would be, frankly, terrifying. Secondly, when the minute was up your son would be an orphan. I don't think you've really thought this through.
Yeah -- the story kept changing in my head as I wrote it. I'm sure there's lots that doesn't make sense. Originally I was going to very subtly imply that I killed my wife or that I was abusing my son. Then I was going to end the story along the lines of... "on the plus side -- my wife may be gone -- but my son gives great head".
I suppose I should have tried to make it a bit more obvious -- after a while -- that I was kidding around.
posted
I didn't think that your Liverpool 'punchline' necessarily meant that your original post was just a bit of black humour and not true. I thought that adding the 'joke as an afterthought might have been a defence mechanism. In fact, it was probably the second post that made me take the first one seriously. It's the kind of thing I might do after I'd blurted out something heartfelt about the death of a loved one, too late to realise it was inappropriate and that I'd misjudged the audience. Plus I was worried your wife was one of those I'd raped and killed, and that you'd tracked me down and were just, like, you know, having a pop at me.
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I mean, bad stuff happens continuously (job-hunting, 3 months and counting ![[Wink]](wink.gif)
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