Friday the 13th

I'm not really superstitious and I don't believe in Friday the 13th, but I might as well talk about it. For some reason I was listening to Carlos Mencia (comedian) and he was talking about different people having bad days. Like if you sold fishing equipment for a living, and you had a REALLY bad day, it would be like teaching someone to use a fishing pole and then accidentally gouging someone's eye out with a hook. On the other hand, if you were the President of the United States, and you had a REALLY bad day, everybody dies.

So I was thinking about how my idea of a "REALLY bad day" has changed throughout life. Like when I was 5 years old, a really bad day was probably wetting my pants while not wearing diapers. 10 years old, probably something like forgetting my lunch, missing the bus, getting into a fight with other kids, etc. High school/college, things like failing a final, getting into an accident on the road, or arguing with your girlfriend.

As expected, the concept of a "really bad day" gets more serious and affects more people around you as you get older and more "important". Right now, I have a relatively little role at my job, so if I pork up, probably not a lot of people will suffer. Also, if I happened to be laid off, it wouldn't be the end of the world, at least I don't have to support a family and stuff.

But still, compared to life before graduation/working, I'm feeling more like something is actually at stake if I screw up or have a really bad day. Like if I forgot to pay taxes, bad stuff will happen. If I decided to drive drunk, I could end up with a DUI, thousands of dollars in court fees, and a mark on my record for many many years to come. Worse yet, I could hit and kill someone because of my recklessness (including myself). A far cry from the old days, when the worst thing that would happen was a detention or getting suspended from school.

Years from now, say I get married, have 3 kids, and become the CEO of a large company. If I seriously mess up then, hundreds or thousands of people could lose their jobs. My wife might leave me, and my children would be psychologically messed up for life, then go on to have kids of their own who will be messed up too. That's a lot of people riding on you, some big time pressure to say the least.

Well, I guess one good thing I could always hold onto is that I'm not Neo. It would suck to be "The One" because if you have a bad day, machines will take over the human race. Not to mention, you got a bunch of Mr. Smiths after you, and your girl Trinity is ugly.

Happy Friday the 13th everyone!