Oh, so hey. How've ya been? Just checkin in, looking for a pulse, perhaps offering one. Yep, still there.
So I got a job. Congratulations, right? And it's so close, I can see it from the window of my houseboat. I'm wondering if it's lame that the biggest selling point for me is a four minute commute. I mean, it's not the only good part. The pay is decent, the people are nice, it's a small office. And it's a private biotech doing Good Things. I'll be playing with Powerpoint all day like the good geek I am and filling in Excel spreadsheets with other people's important projects.
Mostly I'm glad to not be in the living hell of job search mode. I feel like such a whore. And I started the whole shebang off with two excellent intervies that never called me back, so my self-esteem was down the toilet. I'm not used to not getting what I want. I see something, I state my case, I go for it, I get it. That's my modus operandi and always has been. So not getting the jobs was like a slap in the face, and furthermore it stoked some lurid nightmares about my previous manager who was the impetus for my departure from said position. I'm quite certain her comments on my performance were not award-winning. The phrase "overly sensitive" comes to mind.
I've seen about a thousand movies over the past six weeks of unemployment. Let's hear it for bargain matinees! Last night we went to the Crest ($3 movies!) to see Walk the Line. Man, I left there feeling really grateful that I straightened my life out before I went and made a mess of other people's lives too. Some of the nastiest stuff in life comes when I drowning person drags down those around them -- worse, I think, when it's spouses and offspring. I also think it's very cool that Joaquin Phoenix became a revered actor with his imperfect mouth. It gives me hope for humanity. And he learned to play guitar and sing just for that role. What a guy.
Capote was another moving film. Stellar acting. By what is it that all the artists in this world are either bipolar or alocholic or both? It's an interesting topic, I think. It's as though in order to feel and communicate so deeply, you have to walk the edge of that darkness. Some of us fall in. Some never get out. Some days it doesn't seem like a fair trade-off.
I have embarked on a new journey to discover the world's most accurate sugar-free replication of chocolate. So far, after extensive taste-testing, I conclude that Russel Stover's Pecan Delights (a.k.a. "Turtles") are a hefty contender for the title. I do caution you to limit consumption as they cause "gastric distress" in "sensitive individuals". As mentioned previously, I am a sensitive individual.
And you kids who picked up a copy of Colin Meloy Sings Morrissey from the Decemberists frontman's first solo tour, they're selling for hundreds of dollars on eBay. Hundreds. One of them went for more than four hundred dollars last week. Can you believe it? Hang on to those Shirley Collins CDs.
Speaking of CDs, I picked up a few outstanding new releases over the past couple of weeks. I'm seriously enjoying Tom Brosseau's new (old) release, and the Portland compilation of Elliott Smith songs, To: Elliott From: Portland. I highly recommend picking up a copy if you have the means. Tom's show at Chop Suey last week was beautiful. He is just a fabulous performer and a total anachronism. You can't place him in history or geography. He is timeless and everywhere at once.
Oh what else? At this point I'm just procrastinating. I have to go to the gym and I don't want to. I got a personal trainer named Renaud. He is enormous and kicks my ass. It's a good thing, but I'm not feeling it today. I'd rather surf the web and eat sugar-free turtles.
The wind is whipping like crazy here. When was the last time you got motion sickness at your kitchen table?
Hope y'all are well. There'll be more to follow.
Jasper sends his love.
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