Between xmas and New Year's

Nothing ever happens between xmas and New Year's. This is my feeling. I mean, I've been dumped between xmas and New Year's. The Chronicle ran an article about a couple who met on New Year's eve to encourage people to go out. (Kathleen said "I don't think people need encouragement to go out on New Year's." But it turns out she is planning to stay home. I'm at home now, and I'm terribly bored and lonely.

I just listened to This American Life #370: Ruining It for the Rest of Us. I learned that a team can be ruined by one bad apple: a jerk, a depressive or a slacker. A really good leader who listens can ameliorate the negative influence. I'm not sure that's something I can cultivate. I think it's something a person is born with. The show said something else interesting: "Nothing is so big that it can't be ruined. Entire civilizations have been ruined."

Let's extrapolate. Are things ruined by being a jerk, a depressive or a slacker? Are all things ruined those ways? Having managed to ruin most things in life at one point or another, I can see that in myself. But when I look at conflicts I've had with others, Sometimes it seems like they ruined things also by not listening. Accepting all 4 characteristics, I think we've covered all ways of ruining things. Can you think of others?

The flip argument is that some things aren't meant to live. I never wish I had stayed with my high school sweetheart. Some things become ruined because they were never the right thing. Some jobs, apartments or friends are not meant to last. They serve their purpose, and then everyone moves on to something that's a better fit for that next moment. Maybe there is a time and place for measles too.

Thank goodness tomorrow is nye. I don't think I can handle any more limbo.