Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, PUNK?

     Have you ever had a bad or unlucky day that made you wonder if you possibly were just a plaything for some stronger force or fate? If you know me well, I am sure you have either heard of my uncanny, unlucky, and unavoidable experiences, and even possibly experienced them with me. The unusual, unfortunate, and seemingly jinxed events in my life have a coined phrase which my friends and family often state after hearing unbelievable stories which comprise of my everyday life: "That's so you"....
Over the past years I've stapled my finger to a desk, burned my eyelashes off, fallen off treadmills at public gyms, changed car tires on the shoulder of a freeway (in a dress), and walked into glass doors; afterwards, I fight the temptation to be irritated, and mentally check it off the "Got That Over With" list.
Though at times I have disliked my bad fortune, I do not in any way wish it was different; I realize that in many ways I am extremely lucky in the weirdest ways.
     Described in the dictionary, fortuna (luck), can either be bad or good, and is caused by some chance or larger force; it is often attributed to some reasons of faith, superstition, or other reason of logic. Whether you believe in chance or control, ultimately it is generally agreed upon as the balance of fortunate and unfortunate events.

Fortune is also referred to as, "the falling of the dice," but I like to think of it slightly different; conceptually, life is a mixture of chance and control. In my opinion, the dynamic relationship between chance and choice is better explained as the throwing of the dice, or the tossing of the dice. We may not have any control over the dice (and the number it lands on) after it leaves our hands, but we control how hard and what direction we fling it in. With this general theory established, I immediately realize it's flaws; there certainly are external factors which can influence the results. A strong gust (much like another person's motives) can easily disrupt the path of a well-intentioned dice (or actions).
     On some level this explanation may appear to end the debate, however, it also can be dismantled quite easily. Luck can also be understood as a fallacy from the rationalist point of view; their logical explanations instead refer to the rules of probability. To believe in luck, or, "post hoc ergo propter hoc," a person is guilty of assuming correlation (A happens and then B happens; therefore, A influenced B). This logical fallacy does have some illogical flaws though---I can name dozens of situations where A happens and then B happens, and logically A DID influence B (or even directly caused it). With this reasoning it is important to emphasize that these events are sequentially and directly linked. Some examples include:
1. You drink alcohol (A), and then you feel buzzed or drunk (B); drinking alcohol influenced/caused intoxication.
2. You don't wear your seat belt driving (A), and then you get a ticket (B); "Click-it-or-ticket" (duh)!
More briefly, I think we can all agree upon simple cause and effect situations; many of which are avoidable and because of this, are often even more insufferable (stinky armpits-->shoulda used deodorant, hairy legs-->shoulda shaved, bad breath-->shoulda brushed and flossed).
Ultimately, if you are like me (or even opposite and have amazing luck) it is important to remember nothing is permanent. Both bad and good luck will come and go--learn from the experience and move on, and IMPORTANTLY, remember to laugh along the way.

ZZZZZZleep Talking Statistically Sucks

According to numerous health, sleep, and psychological specialists, sleep talking mostly occurs in children; only about five percent of adults report sleep talking. Sadly, I am one of those five percent. Though I initially looked it up online because I was curious WHY I did and if there was any way to reduce it (not that it's a chronic problem), I became curious at the statistics and prevalence of it. A few pointers just seemed odd to me, but possibly I am over thinking it.
First, is five percent a truly accurate account of adult sleep talking, or is it just the only provided research available? Conceptually, many more adults could have"problems" with sleep talking but have no idea because they are SINGLE and ALONE. In contrast, sleep talking in children is more likely and therefore more accurately reported because, well duh, they live with their parents (or some guardian).
Second, researchers have had a difficult time pinpointing exactly WHY people sleep talk, though they 'generally agree' it could be due to 'some other sleep disorder, stress, a mental disorder, or sleep deprivation'.
Okay, so the first cause is just unhelpful; great, congrats--you sleep talk because you actually suffer from another worse disorder (you really don't remember walking to the kitchen, eating all it's contents, and singing "Memories" from Cats Broadway?), thanks Mr. Sleep Specialist. In all honesty, it appears to me that sleep disorders are a long way from being fully understood, and hey, that's understandable. Human brains are magical and complex things, and I want researchers and scientists to take their sweet time understanding them instead of jumping the gun with irrational, nonsensical, or convenient ideas. I mean come on, how many children do you know that are overstressed and have mental disorders; most likely few. On the other hand, how many adults do you know with those problems? Hmmm, that's what I thought. Either the causes are slightly south of the border, or children are now aging seven times the normal speed and experience mid life crisis the day they become toilet trained.