04.28.2003 - 11:22 a.m.

Yesterday I bought a mood ring. I was at the dollar store getting place settings for a bridal shower, and the mood rings were just sitting on the counter between my wallet and the cash register, so I picked one up and added it to my pile. My last mood ring was from one of those gumball machines, in King�s Dominion or Busch Gardens. Six Flags, perhaps. High school. I remember buying it because I was curious about the color of adrenaline.

Yesterday I bought it because I suspected I was happy, and I wanted some corroborating evidence. Or not evidence, exactly, but something I could think of as a sign. So many things sneak up on me while I am paying too much attention to something else.

Happiness is blue. Right now my office is cold, so I am a yellowish green. I don't remember what feeling green is supposed to be. Cold, perhaps.

See, I do realize there�s no such thing as a mood ring. The ring I bought reflects the temperature of my finger, which changes depending on what I am wearing and whether I�ve just showered and how long I�ve been hanging my hand out my car window. I guess I just like the idea of owning something that would tell me what I am feeling, even if it�s obviously less than perfect. It would certainly be nice to have a way of knowing that was a little more scientific than waiting for my emotions to explain themselves.

-stonebridge

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