They say bad luck comes in threes, but it seems that they have come in multiples of three lately for me and my friends. Have you had a string of bad luck lately? Some people are blaming the moon. Others are blaming Y2K. I'm not sure what it is, but I can't wait for it to stop. Everyone I know is getting horrible news or is having unfortunate things happen to them and their families.

Are you, too, falling under a bad spell? Has it just been one thing after another?

-- Anonymous, September 13, 1999

Answers

August 1999

My mom tells me my grandfather has lung and colon cancer.

After working for their company for thirty plus years, my mom and stepdad are both told their jobs are going to be eliminated.

I found out that when he was a child my brother was raped by a family member.

Last week we found out that my husbands grandfather has prostate cancer.

I can't wait for it to stop either, Pamie.

-- Anonymous, September 13, 1999

God help us all.

Here is my life since May 1997: Got married on that day, invited husbands best friend, best friend got drunk, best friend hit husband on Wedding night, best friend kept hitting husband until husband finally hit back, husband delivers one good blow to friends face and friend cracks head open ON MY WEDDING NIGHT - long story short: no wedding night, no honeymoon, best friend proceeds to tell police that husband beat him intentionlly, get lawyers, all Wedding money gone, friend accuses husband's brothers 2 months after wedding, husband gets arrested/ out on bail, husband loses job, we are both broke and slightly crazy with the stress, we find out best friend is suing husband civily for $10 million, my little kitten dies of feline lukemia, husband's mother dies 3 months later, we find out brother in law has colon cancer, my grandfather dies same week, husband still not working, unemployement running out.

Speed ahead to June 11th of this year - case is finally brought up, husband goes to jail for 180 days on assualt charge, I am handling all bills alone and visiting him every weekend, sitting helplessly as he alternately gets angry and depressed and trying not to cry. He gets out October on good behavior. We are offically broke thanks to lawyers and in debt thanks to everything else.

I. Can't. Take. Anymore.

We have a good marriage despite all this (Thank God)and we have our health and great families but sometimes I can't stop crying.

-- Anonymous, September 13, 1999

Seems last summer was nothing but funerals. My father died two summers ago, a 10-year old neighborhood boy died in car accident, I see his mother every day and she just has this look of perpetual sadness. My first cousin died as a result of a fall and she was exactly my age (37). The doctors couldn't explain it. My father-in-law is falling apart as a result of diabetes, and my husband was just diagnosed with it. All you can do is keep your sense of humor and cope with all the shit that rains down on you.

-- Anonymous, September 13, 1999

it comes in threes. had drama at work and almost got transferred 40 minutes further away from my current site. mr. right broke up with me on thursday night. friday i started my period. this week has just sucked the eternal suckage! men... bah!

-- Anonymous, September 13, 1999

1997 went like this:

My father-in-law died of lung cancer in May, my best friend of 25 years announces she is moving to San Antonio (1100 miles away)in June, my father died of lung cancer in September, my sister announces she is moving to Nevada in two years, my fiance ends up in the hospital because he ruptures an artery in his nose. They had to insert a catheter about 7 inches long into his nose and inflate it to 40cc's (put your thumb and index fingers tip to tip) and that inflated part is half way between the back of his nose and his throat. It made his eye swell shut and turned him mentally into a two year old little boy. Then in August of '98 my mom meets a guy and he totally takes over her life and tells her she's not allowed to be so close to her kids anymore and she's all like "Okay!". I can't wait to see what happens next.

-- Anonymous, September 13, 1999

Amy -

Did he get better? Your fiancee, I mean.

-- Anonymous, September 13, 1999

Yeah, he's fine. It took about three weeks to get to that point though. If anything would have happened to him I don't think I could have survived. All of us that have had these tragedies have become much stronger people. Isn't it the truth that you would have never believed you could survive some of this stuff? But we did...that's the important thing : )

-- Anonymous, September 13, 1999

August-September 1999: 1. My 56 year old aunt, who was in perfect health, walked 5 miles a day, and had both of her parents still living, suddenly died. Her heart stopped. Nobody noticed for 4 days.(I was in another state, otherwise I would feel very guilty about this) My mom(her sister)found her naked on her bathroom floor, and couldn't eat or sleep for a week because of the way the body looked.

2. I moved from Texas to Louisiana in a rush for the funeral. I was going to leave in 2 weeks anyway, as Nick and I set a date for our wedding in January, and it was going to be in LA, so I had to plan it.

3. The funeral was on Tuesday. The next Tuesday, my great-uncle died. Nobody EVER dies in my family. I was really afraid the third Tuesday, but nobody died, thank God.

4. My crazy 18 year old sister, in the midst of this chaos, decides to move her wedding up from November to August 28th. My family goes nuts. She doesn't want to invite any of her aunts and uncles. My parents invite then anyway. She does not want a reception or a cake, her future mother-in-law says she is putting one together anyway. Much yelling comes out of this.

5. I decide, what the heck. I am too lonely here without Nick. I take over my sister's forsaken wedding date, November 5th.

6. I find the wedding dress of my dreams at a ridiculously cheap price. Only problem is, it doesn't zip in the back.

7. I go on a crazy horrible diet, involving NO sugar or starch and running around a track panting and sweating the fat away. I am dying for chocolate. My mom left some out last night, and I ate it all at midnight, after everyone was sleeping and no one was there to stop me.

8. I have applied at 10 different places for jobs. Only one called me, interviewed me, and I immediately screwed it up by mentioning I was moving back to TX in 2 and a half months. I could kill myself.

9. I am jobless, poor, freaking out that I don't have enough time to get the wedding together, freaking out that Nick will not find us an apartment in time, freaking out tht Nick will not be able to pay the bills without me having a job for 2 months, FAT and unable to fit my damn dress, too LAZY to get off my butt and go running, lonely as hell, and surprisingly enjoying writing this.

10. I wonder if I could get a job writing soaps? Today on Glitter's World..."Nick dumps Sarah because of her fat thighs, another relation drops dead on the bathroom floor, Faith spurns her relations, causing WW3 to begin, Sarah is depressed and pigs out on chocolate, travels to Texas and slaughters Nick with her friend Jason's infamous chainsaw..."

What do you think? How much would they pay for that script? Oh yeah. I think I forgot to mention that 2 of my bridesmaids called me to cancel AFTER I paid for their $150 dresses with my credit card. I told them they had no choice in the matter. :P

-- Anonymous, September 13, 1999

I hit a deer with my car 3 months ago. I didn't get it fixed because my insurance company had threatened to kick me off my insurance. Then I sprained my ankle. Then my best friend's daughter gave me lice. I have really curly, long hair, and it took me forever to get rid of it. My mother has to sell the home I grew up in and move into an efficiency. All the things I had as a child I have to either take or throw away. I got a job that seemed absolutely ideal, but it only lasted a week. Then I got in a fight with the boss and quit. (this is unusual for me). One of my ex-boyfriend's came out. Another ran off with a stripper. My current boyfriend has mono, and has had it for over a month, so he's quarantined. My air-conditioner leaked all over my laptop computer, which is now dead to the world. My kitten pee'd on my basket of clean laundry. Yesterday, I stabbed myself in the hand with a syringe (accidentally, at work) and hit my head really hard (and subsequently bit my tongue). Now I'm having really painful headaches. Oh, and I hit another deer this week. It died immediately. My car was ruined. I reported it to my insurance company, and although they are paying for the damage, my policy is being reviewed.

-- Anonymous, September 13, 1999

I got a D on my psych test. I got an F on my history test. I got a C on my statistics test. That's bad luck that comes in threes. I'm gaining weight cuz I go on binges every night and I can't control myself. My face is breaking out and I now have pimples the size of basketballs. The kids at school keep on avoiding me for the above reasons.

Gawd. This is pathetic.

-- Anonymous, September 14, 1999

I call our family a three ring circus. Last week the three rings seemed more like 20 and consisted of: 1. my hubby having to go to an immediate care center several times last week to get a suddenly terribly swollen and red leg attended to. (He wiped out on a mini- bike and is nursing a pretty bad friction burn from the tire, not to mention several other abrasions) 2. my work suddenly becoming extremely busy and stress-filled due to an annual fundraising campaign that I coordinate, in addition to all the regular work. I felt like I was just struggling to keep my head above water. I was taking work home nights, (which is rare for me)and loosing patience with myself and my co-workers. 3. my daughter got booted from daycare one day due to some mysterious virus that only affected her digestive system. (I'll spare all readers the details here) 4. I was beyond tired and not eating well and staying up late to get my work-work done and to get some things done around the house (like laundry so we'd have something to wear) 5. and one of my two cats yakked up a hairball once every other day during the course of the week.

On the UP side... things are looking much brighter NOW. 1. Hubby's leg is getting better albeit S-L-O-W-L-Y, and he's not missing any more work 2. My campaign is a success in that we've reached our goal and will be wrapping it all up for this year on this Friday. I will be taking a break from organizing next year's campaign. I'm steadily getting caught up with my other work here, too. AND I'm taking a couple of days off next week FOR ME. I'll get to do whatever I want with no one else to plan my day. 3. Daughter is back in daycare and seemingly over the mystery virus 4. I'm actually getting to bed before 11:00pm, sleeping thru the night and eating better and 5. well... ok, 4 out of 5 isn't bad...

Seriously all, hang in there. It's all temporary b.s.

-- Anonymous, September 14, 1999

I don't know if this falls under the "bad luck" or "horrendous timing" categories, but here goes:
I was assaulted (sexually, I'll spare everyone the details) and nearly killed on my birthday in 1996. This was by a psychotic ex, with whom I happen to have a child. I was in the hospital for two months, in physical therapy for six more months, still walk with a limp yadda, yadda,...So in other words, it was bad.
In January of 97, two days after my last PT session, my son was diagnosed with hepatoblastoma (liver cancer), flown to a hospital 150 miles from home, and started on a course of aggressive chemotherapy. He went from a normal two year old to a sick little bald man in about two weeks.
One week after that, my ex was arrested on the warrent that I had pending on him, and was also charged with another rape, this time against a 14 year old girl. I had to re-dispose my statement while his lawyers asked me questions to see if the two cases were going to be interconnected. He did the exact same things to me as to her, so I think they should have been. In the meantime, he was in jail, with a restraining order out on him, sending me letters telling me alternatively how much he loved me and then how little I deserved to live. I had over 100 letters in eight months.
Finally, my son's tumor is small enough that they want to operate. Great! Get this - they schedule his surgery for the day after I have to testify in court against this ass. No kidding, Aug 7 I testified, Aug 8 he had his surgery.
So I testify (which is such big fun!), then wait around for five hours waiting for the jury verdict. At five-fifteen they announce they will break overnight and come back in the morning. I rush home, pack my son's things, and drive to the hospital.
The next morning, just after he goes into surgery, my lawyer calls me. The jerk got off with time served and a reccommendation for therapy. I wait the rest of the day for my son to be out of surgery. After nine hours, they came out and said they got all the cancer, and that he came through with flying colors. He recuperated in a battered women's shelter because I was afraid to go home.
Things are better now, new man, new life, and the ex is out of the picture (shot dead in a failed robbery attempt on a 7-11 two days before my birthday!). But my 96 and 97 were absolutely screwed!
Thanks for making me think about these things, you made me count my blessings today!

Hyndla

-- Anonymous, September 14, 1999

Oh, by the way, I went to the ER today and found out that I have a concussion. Just to add to the list.

-- Anonymous, September 14, 1999

by the way, I had to put my cat to sleep last night

-- Anonymous, September 16, 1999

This has *not* been my month, all because of one guy. My best friend had a crush on this guy for forever and they finally hooked up. All was peachy until she went out of town for like, all of summer. Meanwhile, the guy, who's had a crush on my twin for 2 years now, started to kinda hook-up with her. My friend gets back about a week before school starts and she has magically changed (in my mind). So she finds out about the guy and my sister and her and the guy break up. Now, she hates my sister and refuses to be in the same room as her. This creates problems because my sister has started hanging out with me and my friends (which bugs me a tad...and thats another completly unrelated problem). So what does my friend do? Shoves me in the middle and makes me tell my sister that she can't come with us anywhere. So, I end calling my sister at work and tell her she can't go out with us that night. Then I start crying to my mom, who yells at me, and tells me to cancel my plans. I call my friend and we end up screaming at each other. Then I go and make up with my sister and we're buddies again. To make a looong story short, school starts and my sister and the guy (whom I like for her...hes a sweetheart to me, unlike her ex-boyfriend) start offically dating. By this time, my ex-best friend and I haven't talked in weeks. Since I'm paranoid already, I start to think my other friends (three to be exact) hate me and would rather be with her. In the course of about 3 weeks, we make up about 2 times, but then she starts acting bitchy about my sister again and I don't like her again. I end up crying to my sister and her boyfriend like everyday. Now, things are better. I can trust two of my three other friends again and the third...well, thats a problem, cause he is one of my two crushes. He also is my ex-best friend's closest friend and he has started ignoring me, which is very hard considering we got incredibly close this summer. Its quite frustrating. In addition to all this, I have little spurts of depression where I tell myself that I will never have a boyfriend, never be kissed, and never get married. I also get to deal with my sister and her boyfriend...but I still love her. Also, I'm failing chemistry...which I actually don't mind, cause I don't want to be a chemist. I want to be an English major actually. Ahhh...that was fun. I feel guilty venting because I realize my problems are a walk in the park compared to some of yours. Things'll get better...they always do:)

-- Anonymous, September 17, 1999

also, my 16 year-old dog has suddenly taken ill

-- Anonymous, September 20, 1999