Play Calvinball

No, that's not how many weeks it's been since I've posted but rather something else...

First, congrats to Ed for staying alive. We knew you could(n't) do it but you managed to escape stab and STD free. One for the ages.

Second, congrats to another Truck Stop O-liner, Sean McComb, for hopping on the engagement express. Tickets sold out.

Okay, on to what Week Three means. I... am employed. And this is the third week.

Whoa.

Adam, seriously, what took you so long? Well, to answer your question, Shut up. But after a long and lengthy process I managed to secure a job.

[Here's my impromptu business card].

W.S.
Pottery Barn - Teen
Adam Croce
Assistant Control Buyer - Textiles
(415) 555-5555

Basically, I work under the corporate umbrella of W.S. In that company, I work for Pottery Barn Teen division, which is just a subsection of Pottery Barn that caters to that special tween-teen demographic that lies somewhere between Pottery Barn Kids and Pottery Barn. What do I do? I buy stuff. Can't you read? Assistant Control BUYER. Man, you're slow.

But seriously (or pseudo-seriously), I buy textiles from overseas and in the good ole US of A that we pass on to you, the consumer. The office is sweet, cool location outside of the canyons of the Financial District and everyone is super nice... and female. No joke, I was in a department meeting today and I was the only guy out of 30 persons. Interesting... (I'll leave you to your thoughts on that one).

So, they pay me well, benefits and perks are nothing to sneeze at or even get germs close to so make sure that doesn't happen. Oh, and I am on the 4th floor mezzanine so I get to sit in my corner cube gazing upon all the peeons below me as they tap away on their keyboards. MUAH AH AH!!

In conclusion, the best part is one in which I just realized today walking to the BART... The office of the first job I took out in SF (as naieve as I was) is located right near a BART station I walked past today. As I thought about this, a smile came to my face. I am working for a better company, fewer hours and making a lot more than all those schmoes who started with me that same day in that terrible office in that fake environment.

And the townspeople rejoiced...

Well, at least in blog form.



Anyone who has a legitimate answer please comment about it. I am just as stumped as the hosts.

And please don't make the whole 'Fox News' complaint. We all known which way they slant but the question is still worth asking.

I've spent all this time on timewasting things...

That's a pseudo conclusion I reached just now. It's origin is unclear but the catalyst was sort of random... Juno. The movie that is...

If you haven't seen it, I'm not gonna ruin anything so there's no spoiler alert needed. And my conclusion isn't really justified in what I am about to excrete here but it is sort of related.

So, character A and B are talking about music and media and travels. It's done with quirky dialogue and comedic timing and la la la. They talk about 70's horror film directors, bands I've heard of but know none of their music, places I've never even though to visit. But the end point I derived from this film is that I've spent a fair amount of time (mostly age 12-21) wasting my time on things of trivial importance. Now some of these things have come back to help me and be beneficial but the vast majority has pretty much festered into an unusable tumor of worthless knowledge.

To jump into what I mean, the following are things I spent WAY too much time on when only a smaller commitment would of sufficed:

- Seinfeld, Pop music, Professional sports, Card collecting, Sleeping, Bad TV movies, Late-night talk shows, Fark.com

All of these things took up a far larger part of my life in those ten years then they needed to and have thus set me back mentally a few steps (in my own twisted mental reasoning). I know it's common to express the sentiment of 'Live without regret' but it's a tough mantra to follow (well for me at least). Thinking about the possibilities that could've come only leads to pondering the options you could of had. And I can't regret all of these decisions because at the very least it brought me to this understanding right now. But the circular logic brings you back to pontificating the understanding you COULD have right now as opposed to the one you are currently having.

I guess another bottle of lighter fluid thrown on the spark was walking around one of the SF libraries today. All of the titles I initially searched for were checked out, lost or currently used as a door stop for the local taqueria. So instead, I said 'A pox on you, Mr. Dewey! And take your system with you' and roamed the shelves and stacks. This leisurely and random perusing was sort of a look into myself for gazing over the many topics and subjects and fields, it's easy to realize what you gravitate towards. And... getting back to my original ideal... I began to realize what is starting to become important and it's actually learning something (what a novel idea!)

However for me, I am breaking down learning into two factions: Employment and Entertainment.

Employment: Yes, I am a square. I'm never gonna be Ian Anderson, or Johnny Rotten or Kurt Cobain (depending on what decade you care to reminisce in). Therefore, its necessary to learn a trade, and since shoe cobbling has gone the way of the 8-track, I'll pick something a little bit more modern. That is why I took out the 700 page "Excel for Dummies" guide and have been teaching myself all the finer points of minutia. That is why I have the Kaplan GMAT book and have begun doing some preliminary business school searching. That is why I spent so long looking for a job for I had to shake off the preconceived notions I put into my own head and instead realize what I unabashedly enjoy doing and chase it, thanks to "What Color is Your Parachute." Learning this final nugget has been a real eye opening experience about who I am and also leads into...

Entertainment: Yes, I am a square but I should definitely know about Jethro Tull, Sex Pistols and Nirvana. Unfortunately, I am such a square / dork / ignorami that I had to spend ten minutes on Wikipedia trying to find three similar bands in three different decades and verify their lead singers. And at this point, I bet a bunch of you are saying "Did he really not know that?" and the answer is "Yes, I didn't." A reason for this is I spent most of musical formative years with my parents in control of the radio which was either easily listening or 'Traffic and Weather together on the :08's.' But they are not to blame. It is I who did not branch out and seek out this music. That is why today I try to seek out new forms of entertainment learning. It's why today, I begin my search of all the late 70's to late 80's music that I missed and have no clue about. This new trail also explains the recent library acquisitions of Vonnegut and Sedaris. And once again, I can hear you saying "Dude, where has this kid been?" and my answer "In a friggin cave... of the MIND." But I need to start somewhere and that somewhere is here.

Contemplating all the things someone can know and also not know is a great way to promote insomnia. I often watch the dull red lines of my alarm clock flicker by as I ponder all the music I've missed, all the studies I've tossed aside and all the experiences I squandered. And as I drift off to sleep, I see two ways to go: care-free, with it's catchy songs, easily-written articles and low calorie servings; or the path of constant questioning, ever-changing knowledge and concepts almost too large to grasp, that would eventually lead to enlightenment if not cursed with mortality...

So if you see me eating the celery stick / half-fat ranch dressing lunch and reading Us Weekly, I've succumbed to the temptation and all. is. lost.