Tag Archives: pessimism

The lactose intolerant can go to Starbucks®

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“People will always have opinions about your decision because they’re not courageous enough to take action on their opinion.”
― Steve Maraboli

I made the mistake of sharing my gelateria concept, should I ever get to that point, with my best friend and sisters on 4th of July.  In return, I received opinions, opinions, opinions.

“Well, then you have to serve coffee and become a full café.  What about all the lactose intolerant people who can’t eat gelato?  You need to have something for them.  There are so many people who can’t eat gelato. You can’t just serve gelato.”

It’s great that I surround myself with amazing women who have strong beliefs and are unafraid to speak their minds, but sometimes, just sometimes, I wish I could find a support system rather than a mob ready to mutilate my every hope, wish and dream, leaving them splayed and vivisected in the gutters of the street.

Fuck the lactose intolerant.

After the onslaught of comments, it’s been difficult for me to get back to the necessary preparatory work to make my dream  into a reality – my computer has sat, unused, on my kitchen table all week.  I know that I shouldn’t let this derail me.  There will always be the naysayers and detractors – the more negativity I hear, the more likely it is that I have a good concept.    But, the pessimism, especially from friends and family, deflates me like a balloon.

I don’t want to build this business in a bubble – I want opinions, but I need constructive opinions, opinions from experts who have been there and know what I’m talking about.  I want to ask a million questions of my restaurant-owning friends and of chef.  My sisters and friends, on the other hand, can tell me what they think of a flavor combination, once I’m fine tuning it, but, for now, I want them to keep their mouths shut.  Let me dream, let me research, let me explore, let me fine tune – and, unless you’re going to invest in it,  please keep your negative opinions to yourself.

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Am I having a Zoloft Moment?

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I’ve been in what my mom would call a “foul” mood lately – as in, “Phoren, you’re in a foul mood today”.  Bitter and cynical, I’ve been in no frame of mind to do much of anything – and everyone is irritating me. I can barely stand the presence of my coworkers. Sullen, I’ve spent every day this week with my office door tightly closed to the world. The less interaction the better. Last weekend’s activities bored me, I passed on celebrating my 3 year old nephew’s adventure-park birthday this weekend, I was a no show at the culinary school’s alumni party and I canceled a catering for tomorrow.

That little voice in my head kept asking, “Could it be Depression?” Curious to find a reason for my ennui, I looked up the symptoms last night:

1. persistent sad, anxious, or “empty” mood
2. loss of interest or pleasure in activities, including sex
3. restlessness, irritability, or excessive crying
4. feelings of guilt, worthlessness, helplessness
5. feelings of hopelessness, pessimism
6. sleeping too much or too little, early-morning awakening
7. appetite and/or weight loss or overeating and weight gain
8. difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions
9. thoughts of death or suicide, or suicide attempts
10. persistent physical symptoms that do not respond to treatment, such as headaches, digestive disorders, and chronic pain

So, my friends, am I burned out – or clinically depressed? I still don’t know. Yes, my mood has been “empty”, but I’m not persistently sad or anxious. I have had a loss of interest in activities, but a little sex in my life might be just what the doctor ordered! I’ve already confessed to being irritable and pessimistic, but I’m not spending my evenings crying, full of guilt, worthlessness or helplessness – just splayed out on the couch with the remote. I’m feeling hopeless only in regard to my love life – you would be, too, if your only choices were middle-aged, bald and paunchy. I’ve always slept too much and, yes, I do feel like I’ve gained weight, but that has more to do with my recently sedentary life than overeating. I WISH I was waking early in the morning and suffering weight loss (THAT would make depression worthwhile!). Lastly, no I don’t have thoughts of suicide – just killing the idiots around me.

So, maybe it’s not depressions after all. Does anyone have a cure for malaise?