Things happen in 3's. What does it mean when...

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...they just keep coming?

People often say that bad stuff always comes in threes. In the past, this seems to have been the case. But what does it mean when you go well beyond those 3, and these aren't small things.

Here's my month (that's just JULY/AUGUST) so far:

1) computer crashed
2) fridge died
3) van died (gone to dump)
4) bicycle for new transportation refuses to be repaired
5) laundry washer burning rubber - needs to be replaced
6) long-lost debtor suddenly demanding thousands of dollars
7) another less serious computer crash

And if that isn't enough...

Today I made one of the most shocking discoveries of my life.

8) I've lost my domain! Someone took my domain that I've been working to promote for over a year. It seems my host forgot to renew the registration.

Yep! That's 8 so far (well, 6 serious ones if you discount #4 & #7) in just ONE MONTH! And August isn't over yet. Oh, and my tenant decided to move, which cuts my income significantly. So I guess that's 9 so far.

So tell me... what would YOU make of this?

I think I'm suicidal!

Sylvia
  • Profile picture of the author HeySal
    It could be worse - everything you just listed is pretty temporary stuff. It isn't like deaths of loved ones or terminal health diagnosis.

    Take the small stuff one at a time -- check into a lawyer regarding your domain and your "long lost debtor" who might have disappeared long enough to have exceeded his statute of limitations on collections.

    Then prioritize what you need fixed first. If they have Craigslist.com or Freecycle.com in Canada you might be able to get freebies to replace a few of the appliances.

    I've had close to two years now of that type of thing, but all in all - nothing terminal so I am in good shape.
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    • Profile picture of the author sylviad
      Thanks Sal,

      I went through 10 years of crap like this (1991-2001) and things haven't been too bad since so I've had about 5 years of reprieve... until now.

      Bad costly personal decisions and multiple deaths were part of that 10 year-stint that culminated in the suicide of my partner and death of a close friend in a traffic accident. Almost lost my house, too. That series ended with my own diagnosis of perforated ulcers and a thyroid disorder that almost killed me when I thought it was just exhaustion.

      Let's face it. Everything is temporary really, isn't it? I mean... even grief becomes a thing of the past eventually - well, pretty much anyway.

      I've since replaced my fridge, and yesterday I finally got my bike fixed, so 2 down, 6 to go. The debtor is within 7 years, which I think is the max allowed - it's actually only about 2 years - I understood it had all been settled, but now I see not.

      All these things might be temporary, but there's always that lingering and serious financial spinoff.

      Thanks for the suggestions. We have services that can provide free replacements, but the qualifications are rigorous. I recently checked a government grant program to replace the drafty windows in my house, but I have to pay $4,000 first to get back about $150.

      I'm sure things will work out, as they always seem to, somehow. It's funny, but as these things come at me I quickly jump into resolution mode but as they keep coming, my energy wanes. I'm sure you know what that's like.

      I hope your life goes easier, too.

      Sylvia
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      • Profile picture of the author ecoverartist
        Your domain might have been taken only temporarily (called kiting, I believe?) - there are services out there that snap up names when they aren't registered, but then within 48 hours they're dropped and you can register it again.
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        • Profile picture of the author espacecadet
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          • Profile picture of the author sylviad
            Thanks for your feedback.

            ecoverartist...

            Actually, my domain is resolved. WHEW!!!

            Apparently, my host turned off the Auto-Register feature on my domain so it never got renewed. As it turns out, my host actually put my site up for sale at $300! Can you believe it? And they did it 1 day after the due date for renew.

            Anyway, they confirmed the mistake and have reregistered it. It should be back on in 24 hours. It irks me that they didn't waste any time trying to make a buck, instead of trying to keep/satisfy a customer.

            espacecadet...

            Thank you for that tip. It's good to know. I suspected it would be something like that, but it has been squeaking lately too, which could be related or something else. It was used when I got it about 6 years ago so it probably does have a short life left.

            Unfortunately, my laundry room is tiny and contains 2 washers (incl. the last one that died that I hoped to repair) and a dryer. I cannot gain access without getting someone to wiggle at least 1 out of the room. And they are heavy.

            But thanks so much for taking the time to find that info (or for having that knowledge ready to share).

            And thank you so much for that last comment. It's good to know there is support within easy reach.


            Sylvia

            PS : Love the quote! So appropriate.

            "If you can keep a level head in all this Confusion, then you just don't understand the Situation".
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            • Profile picture of the author espacecadet
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              • Profile picture of the author bendiggs
                I have always found the thought that things happen in threes to be a very self fulfilling prophecy. This isn't to discount that you've been having a bad run, but more a shot at the belief that everything happens in threes. What criteria do we use to determine that three bad things have all happened? What is the time frame required for this unholy trilogy? I could say that the last three elections were all bad, so they happened in threes right? Or how about the three times I've had to have surgery in my life. You can find a trifect of bad things for almost any situation.

                Also, what is the logical connection between the three things? Do they all have to be similar, or can it be any bad thing that happens? If I get into a car accident, have a close relative die and lose my job within a year, is that a trifecta? Or do I need to have 3 bad things happen at work for it to count?

                Again, I'm sorry for your tough times, and my rant isn't directed at you at all, just the thought of three bad things.
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                • Profile picture of the author HeySal
                  LOL - Sylvia, bendiggs just made me think of something....um....did you by any chance break any mirrors? I was just remembering the one I broke...thank god, it was almost 7 years ago to this week! I remember being at work and someone was teasing me about some way my hair was on the back of my head and I said I couldn't see it because I broke my mirror - and that was when I met my ex. LOL. Well, there you have it - a reason for all the crap. . And it gets funnier.....it has rained all damned year until this week. Well this seems like a good time to finish that project I've been working on eh?
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                  • Profile picture of the author sylviad
                    Thanks, espacecadet!

                    bendiggs...

                    I am not a superstitious person in general. I walk under ladders, cross paths with black cats... so these things are not self-fulfilling prophecies in a way that you're thinking. I don't expect 2 more things to happen every time something bad happens. In fact, I've always waved off superstitions.

                    It's only been in the last few years that it has become increasingly obvious that things happen in threes. When one celebrity dies, quite often (more often than not it seems) two others die shortly afterwards - like within a few months or less. I'm certainly not looking for those others to die just to make up the superstition.

                    In fact, I hadn't even been considering the magic 3 but just took each event as it came and worked to remedy it, and then another thing happened and I again looked for solutions. At some point in the past few years while looking back at my life it became quite obvious that things do happen in threes.

                    To fit the set of 3, the events have to be relatively close together. It doesn't really make sense for them to be years apart. I can go on for months, sometimes years, smoothly sailing. And then, the events hit. For example, within a 2-month period my 16-year-old dog died, my mother died and there was one other thing I can't remember now.

                    Now, self-fulfilling prophesy might be related to this but not directly. Here's an interesting concept.

                    Just prior to this last set of 3 (9), I had 'prayed' for help for my situation from my deceased partner - for some kind of direction to figure out why I couldn't get out of the predicament I'm in. My answer? Nothing. Or so I thought. It took me awhile to make the connection between these events and my request. Then, I looked back on previous requests and the results. Each time, bad stuff happened instead of good. (Some people would say I subconsciously made it happen... but these were things I couldn't control - like my vehicle suddenly giving up the ghost when it was running fine.)

                    Now, there's a potential message in this. I asked for help. I thought I didn't get the help I hoped for, but I was probably wrong. There's a lesson in having these episodes delivered with my requests for help. And I believe I've finally figured it out. This WAS the answer. It's up to me now to get to the nitty-gritty of what's behind it - and I believe I've resolved that, too. I won't go into details here but it's quite an enlightening revelation. (has to do with my own energy and how I trigger it into action - bad stuff is highly motivating )

                    Sal...

                    As I said, I'm not superstitious. But to answer your question... no, "I" (personally) haven't broken any mirrors, but my tenant did smash two mirror doors in the apartment. Does that count?

                    One thing I have noticed, however, is that my life changes every 5 years. Why 5, I have no idea. If I look back now, I can see that in the majority of cases, every 5 years something big happens - return to college, quit my long-standing job, moved, etc. I know, it sounds like these are planned, but not really. But it might be connected to the '7-year-itch' they talk about, only in my case it's 5.

                    Sylvia
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                    • Profile picture of the author HeySal
                      LOL - Sylvia, I was just kidding. I did break the mirror - the events were as I posted them, but no way I believe breaking a mirror sent me into a spin. Basically I was just laughing at remembering it. I am not superstitious in the least.

                      Your post is eerie - I lost a beloved dog, my mother, and a relationship in a two month sweep, too - in 1985. That was it for a lot of years, but it was enough. Actually - most of the last 7 years were calm, too - just intermittent little annoyances, the last two have been constant one thing after another. Some of it was self-imposed by wrong choices, some just trying to get re-situated as a single older woman in an increasingly fascist society.

                      Perhaps you might be interested in the fact that in sacred geometry - the law of 5...is chaos.
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                      • Profile picture of the author espacecadet
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                        • Profile picture of the author sylviad
                          Originally Posted by espacecadet View Post

                          Will somebody please send Sylvia a rabbits foot...:rolleyes:
                          Interesting you should say that. A few months back, my lifelong friend brought me a bamboo plant, which is supposed to bring good luck. And if I were superstitious (which I already told you I'm not), I'd say it worked. Within a few weeks of its arrival, I began making more sales with my sites, I latched onto a fairly well-paying ongoing freelance writing job, and I found the perfect tenant.

                          Ooo...Lookie! There's that #3 again! Hm. Never noticed in the 'positive events' before!


                          Sal, you might want to avoid mirrors, especially if they give you ex's...
                          Good one, espacecadet!

                          Sylvia
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                          • Profile picture of the author bendiggs
                            That's the other thing right there, people only count the "curse of threes" when it happens to be negative, it is never called the "blessing of threes". Why is that do you suppose? Again, I go back to it being a fairly self-fulfilling concept that too many people are just attuned to. It never fails that when someone invokes the "curse of threes" any good event that has happened to break the cycle is conveniently forgotten.

                            If the curse is true then who were the last three celebrities to die? How were they linked? How far apart were their deaths?
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                            • Profile picture of the author HeySal
                              Sylvia - scorpio - through and through.

                              Allen -- I love mirrors, as long as they are the rear view mirror.
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                              • Profile picture of the author sylviad
                                Thanks, HeySal...

                                After posting that comment, I realized it didn't make sense. I wasn't implying we'd be in opposition. My thinking was that if you follow your birthsign, you'll know that things are 'supposed' to happen at certain times and have similar experiences, etc. with others of your sign. I fit the Sag sign to the 't' and those I've met also fit it quite well. In my experience, 'some' of them have similar events at the same time, too. Interesting.

                                Sylvia
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                                • Profile picture of the author HeySal
                                  It made sense, Sylvia. I don't follow my horoscope too much but I can see where they seem very valid here and again as long as you aren't reading them from the daily papers.
                                  My parents are/were both Leos and they were a fantastically happy couple. They had a scorpio daughter though, LOL.

                                  The idea of horoscopes fit quite well with certain Eastern philosophies that we are born to the lives we are in to learn and to pay our karmic debts. Under such a philosophy our horoscopes make perfect sense.
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                      • Profile picture of the author sylviad
                        Originally Posted by HeySal View Post

                        LOL - Sylvia, I was just kidding. I did break the mirror - the events were as I posted them, but no way I believe breaking a mirror sent me into a spin. Basically I was just laughing at remembering it. I am not superstitious in the least.

                        Your post is eerie - I lost a beloved dog, my mother, and a relationship in a two month sweep, too - in 1985. That was it for a lot of years, but it was enough. Actually - most of the last 7 years were calm, too - just intermittent little annoyances, the last two have been constant one thing after another. Some of it was self-imposed by wrong choices, some just trying to get re-situated as a single older woman in an increasingly fascist society.
                        You wouldn't happen to be Sagittarian, would you? While I'm not superstitious, I am a bit intrigued by how people often match their birthsign's details. My father and I are both Sags and we clashed like you wouldn't believe - we were way too similar in our attitudes, approaches and personalities in general.


                        Perhaps you might be interested in the fact that in sacred geometry - the law of 5...is chaos
                        Huh?! Never heard of this sacred geometry, but an interesting fact.

                        Sylvia
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