Scamentines Day

I hate it when I get scammed! It's such a huge sucker punch to my pride and professionalism. It's humiliating, financially damaging and makes me that much more cynical towards the world.

Since being in business for myself, it seems so that someone is always making a valiant effort to pull the wool of my eyes. Be it a door-to-door con artist claiming to be a poor student, a persistent telemarketing agency who can't take no for an answer, virus-laden emails clogging up my spam filter, hell, even the occasional client skipping town without paying. That last one really hurts.

It's a tough world when you go it alone and it's easy to get bitter, resentful and suspicious along the way. Being duped is akin to be dumped. Those bad vibes blow your ego to shreds and provoke immeasurable self-scrutiny. But scam or no scam, this week is not the time to be sour, right? Thursday is Valentines Day, a rosy shade of pink and pretty flowers to feel festive about.

Nauseating!

It's forced sentimentalism on a hyped, overly commercialized holiday. I've decided to buy myself a box of dark chocolates, rent an angry movie and throw darts at a poster of cupid. That should make me feel better for falling for scams of all varieties. Oh, yes, bitterness becomes me this week.