Happiness, Friday and Free Will.

Yesterday we talked about my wife wanting me to try to be happier. It is a noble struggle, an endless chore. It requires a constant state of vigilance. But. I am trying.

This morning when I left for work she said, "it will be a good day." And, I agreed, it's Friday, after all, one of my co-workers is taking the day off, one less person to email, call and hound me all day. The forecast was for happiness, with intermittent slides toward disgust and misery.

As soon as my tires hit the streets the world started screaming at me.

"Stop!"

"No Left Turn!"

"Watch Out For Motorcycles!"

"Vote For Balderson!"

"Vote For O'Conner!"

Yield, speed limit strictly enforced, no parking, no stopping, no loitering, don't even think about it. This was all before I hit the freeway.

Maybe I'm not really even a human, maybe I am a robot, an automaton following lines of code, forced to loop through cycles of repetitive instructions. Until my central processor is so outdated it can no longer function and I am tossed on the trash pile for all of eternity or cast in concrete and recycled as yard art. Sort of a throwback, a little nostalgia for the next generation of mindless drones.

Maybe, I reasoned, or was programmed to think, it might be advantageous. If I had no freewill could I be held responsible for my action? But, when I called the ask an attorney hotline they told me that defense would never hold up in a court of law and told me I should put my other coworkers lunch back in the refrigerator. Too bad, too, it was a delicious looking sandwich with pepperoni and some sort of white cheese with peppers. It would have really made me happy.

I'll find something else. It is Friday, the sun is shining and the coffee is fantastic, and emails are few and far between.

For Today's entry in the Song That Makes me Happy contest is a rock and roll classic from one of coolest bands I have ever listened to; The Del Lords, singing No Waitress No More.

I realize there is a lot of potential for problems when two people meet in such a random, spur of the moment way, and decide to cast their lot together without spending requisite time learning about each other. Still, I love that song, it makes me happy, and it rocks and rolls. Don't forget to vote at Life Explained, Music Poll. It will be live next week sometime as soon as I get tired of writing about things that make me happy.