Saturday, August 17, 2013

17 August 2013

"Buy the ticket, take the ride." — Hunter S. Thompson

Some days are up, some are down.

Lately, they've been up. It won't stay that way, but for now, I'm going to take HST's words to heart and just go with it.

The new job is going well beyond my wildest dreams. I really like the people I work with, but I think more than anything my attitude is paying dividends. Some of you have worked with me before and know I can be... difficult. I still believe it comes from the right place: I always want to do a good job and expect everyone else to have that as Job 1. I have little tolerance for passengers, slackers, phonies, suck-ups and politicians. Half of the last six places I worked were chock-full of those types, and another was an ongoing struggle between people who wanted to shine and a powerful handful riding a quasi-governmental institutional bloat down like Major Kong's final trip.

The heat broke a few weeks ago, and it's been livable, except when it's been amazing. A handful of cool nights into the 50s; the windows open, the dreams vivid.

We bought a couch; it arrived yesterday. It's so nice I don't want to use it. It's a "grown up" thing to do and I'm embracing a larger sense of responsibility right now. I want to do better. I want to live better. 

To that end I've been trying to put things in order. In a world of chaos, it's helpful to administer as much control as you can over your environment.

If you're open to it, you can take a ride and it can be better than you hoped. In the past many years I've had catastrophic events — failed relationships, unanticipated job losses, financial crises among them — and fantastic adventures. 

In those down times I never thought I would be where I am today. I have a partner who believes in me and who has fought for me, who has refused to give up on me even when I had given up on me. I live in a fascinating city and it is as contradictory as life itself: Sometimes beautiful, occasionally maddening, always interesting. I have three dogs, when I really didn't even want one.

I didn't expect this, but I went with it. I bought the ticket. I'm taking the ride.

Go with it.

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