When I told RockGirl that I'd gotten a permanent job offer today, and that I'd accepted it, she replied with, "Yay, I guess."
By the way, I italicized that word above because, as I learned a little over a year ago, permanent doesn't really mean what people think it means.
Anyway, I knew exactly what RockGirl meant.
After exhaustive research, I have determined that money is a good thing to have. But, another thing that's good to have is tons of freedom.
Sometimes, you can't have them both. Sometimes, you have to choose.
And, since my grand lottery plan never did work out, I had to choose. I chose money, and everything that comes with money. Food, housing, etc.
Plus, I'm really excited about this job. I know, everybody says that, but I really am.
Good for you, Dave! You've reached the next plateau! Next step, regular hours.
Remember, there are two types of freedom: absolute and concrete. Think of it this way: you have a beautiful laboratory, stocked with every conceivable tool of science. Person one may enter anytime and do whatever he wants. He has absolute freedom. Person two is only permitted to enter between the hours of nine to five. He must abide by the rules of safety and constraints of science that have been drilled into him during years of study. He has concrete freedom. Who is more apt to discover a scientific breakthrough?
One is often most successful socially and in his hobbies when busy. I'm rooting for you!
posted by: Archie | May 21, 2010 11:54 AM
Me too! Go Dave! Go Dave! Go Dave!
Hey Archie, you sound like my kinda person, if you're ever in N. Virginia, look me up, we'll shoot some pool.
Bring Dave so he can spank both of us! Doesn't Dave capute and turn a phrase with captivating accuracy? Particulary those slippery bits of the human condition that we all know but would be hardpressed to put into words.
I LOVE the way this man writes.
posted by: Iron Butterfly | May 21, 2010 12:57 PM
IB, I AM your kind of person, and I'd love to bring Dave to Breaker's for some bank pool (since I bank worse than Goldman Sachs I could use all available help).
Dave has a talent for wordsmithing. He has a sublime ability to turn a phrase. The difficult part is the gestalt of storytelling-the actual getting somewhere, and for that he needs to stop being so passive-aggressive in his narrative. This would, of course, necessitate putting himself in a position of vulnerability, something he is loathe to do. I think we're all waiting to see if his dream deferred leads to a literary explosion or if he safely retreats to Rich O's for a pint of peach-flavored American microbrew ala J.Alfred Prufrock.
posted by: Archie | May 24, 2010 12:00 PM