This is the story of a girl...

who cried a river and drowned the whole world...

I was tagged in a friend's note on Faceboook that asked the recipient to list (without editing for coolness factor) the first fifteen songs that came up when you set your MP3 player on "shuffle." It was a fun exercise and it occurred to me that it was an excellent way to come up with blog ideas.

I have a pretty eclectic mix of songs. Most of them were released at least ten years ago, and all of them were personally picked for a specific reason that meant a lot more to me back then. (Seriously? Taco?)

One of the songs that came up on my list was Nine Days' "Absolutely."

My interpretation of the song is that there is a girl whose lover makes false promises and makes her unhappy, but she insists on waiting for him, "wearing holes in the soles of her shoes," and crying rivers, but not doing anything about the situation.

"How many lovers would stay, just to put up with this shit day after day?" the narrator (who happens to be the faithless boyfriend) asks.

It is a valid question. What makes us stay in a situation that makes us unhappy? Why do we insist on a course of action (or inaction) that we would warn our friends against?

I fall under this category, myself. I am forever complaining about things that i have control over but am too much of a wuss to do anything about. So, my new motto is "WWMDISWGATSE" or what-would-Melinda-do-if-she-was-giving-advice-to-someone-else.

I recently got so fed up with the ineptitude of my boss and the utter chaos at my office that I quit. Without another job lined up. After years of trying to convince myself that having this job was better than nothing, I finally came to my senses. My sanity is far more important that making my boss look like a slightly better lawyer for the peanuts that he pays us. I would rather sleep on friends' couches than put up with the ungrateful skinflint for another month. My advice to myself? Leave and tell your boss exactly why you are leaving.

Naturally, the boss is in complete denial about why I quit and actually told me that has "six months" in the office pool about how long I last with the other attorney I am going to be doing some work for. Nice. Dude - I put up with you for the better part of six YEARS. I like my chances of putting up with someone else for six months.

But this principle needs to apply to other areas of my life, too:

• If I had a friend who bitched as much as I did, I would probably slap her.
• I spend way too much money on crappy food, then don't understand why I'm broke and fat.
• I spend way too much money on healthy food that then rots in my fridge while I order in.
• The disorganization in my home in no way helps the disorganization in my head.
• That whole "don't make someone a priority if they only treat you as an option" thingy probably has a lot to do with why I'm single and resentful.
• Get the eff out of the house, already!

I'll let you know how it goes :)