Peace out 28. Hello 29.
]]>“You know I dreamed about you / for twenty-nine years before I saw you / You know I dreamed about you / I missed you for / for twenty-nine years...”
The National, "Slow Show"
Courtesy of the effervescent Kiera Cass, client extraordinaire. And no, I'm not going to drop her from my list. She makes me money :) and she's hilarious.
I digress.
I had a good week. It started with breaking through a big professional hurdle. As a new agent, I've had a lot of firsts these 2 years, but I have many firsts still ahead of me. As the kind of person who wants to be kick-ass at her job, the fact that a few haven't happened IMMEDIATELY has been frustrating. But I'm also insanely impatient. And yet, it happened, and I'm thrilled.
And THEN a million other things started congealing (congealing? gross...) all at once. Another interesting professional development, and maybe a good personal one too.
Like, what's WITH that? How can things be so mediocre or even crappy for so long with no sign of breaking, and then BAM! The universe starts handing you things. And then you realize, shockingly, you're happy. I almost don't want to say it for fear of jinxing it.
Mass hysteria, I tell you.
]]>Today's breakthrough? Maximizing that header/banner space, and making some custom social icons. I've always wanted my own. I still have things I want to tackle, but I'm excited about today's work.
Feel free to leave some feedback! (Or hire me.)
]]>I went on a random road trip with my best friend the last two days to get her car to summer camp in Clayton, GA. Here are the stats:
Way fun, but it's good to be home.
]]>This morning my dad sent me a text message (well, 2 because it was so long) saying:
Ernie Harwell's passing is one of those life's semicolons; causing those, at least of my generation, to pause and ponder the passing of one of those subtle constants that moors one's life. He epitomized baseball which in itself epitomizes certain immutable values of Americana. His passing is worth noting.
While I really enjoy my father's actual use of a semicolon after using that phrase (because I'm like that), and how eloquent my father can be over text message (he also says OMG when texting about hockey), I've always liked that expression. That built-in moment in life of stopping to think, "Huh."
It's weird to think about things from your childhood no longer existing...especially when they are people. That sense of nostalgia is so bittersweet, because it's a great memory but you get slapped upside the head by the impermanence of pretty much anything. The things that feel constant won't be forever.
Not to make myself seem stupid and young, but I imagine this must happen so much more often the older you get. My parents are both turning 60 this year, and while I don't think that's old by any stretch, I'm sure they're spending a lot of time going "How did THAT happen?" Hell, I think that as I get closer to 30. It's young, but not that young. There's so much left to do.
But back to the point, I'm sad about Ernie Harwell. He retired several years ago, but it's weird to think of that being permanently done. And I'm sad for my dad, who gets hit really hard by his sentimentality and nostalgia. But at least he has the entire Ernie Harwell box set to listen to and think about great things like baseball.
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So the fallout in Europe with all these cancelled flights has been somewhat amusing to me. First, because it means there are even more news reporters trying to pronounce a word that means Island-Mountain-Glacier. Second, unlike all the horrible earthquakes on the other side of the planet, it's one of those crazy natural "disasters" where not a single person has died or gotten hurt. Third, all these stranded travelers can't really blame anyone. And they shouldn't anyway. Flying is that one time where you are forced to relinquish control.
But what I actually like the most about this volcano's eruption is that it reminds humanity who's boss here. The answer? Not us.
It's no secret that I love dystopian fiction. I have also been known to say that I live in New York because I want to be at event zero. I don't want to see the mess that we have to clean up after the apocalypse strikes. I am pretty confident that whatever catastrophe devastates the planet, we had it coming.
I happen to like seeing the airlines scramble a bit. I think the economic and technological learning curve could benefit from companies having to innovate under pressure. What happens when planes can't fly because we ran out of fuel anyway? The earth doesn't care about stock prices or CEO bonuses, or lost luggage. If this goes on for weeks, some clever solutions will undoubtedly pop up. We get too complacent when we aren't forced to change.
We don't own this planet. We just have enough hubris to act all entitled and do a great job ruining it. And if the Emmerich brothers' movies have taught us anything, it's that nature always gets its way eventually. So when these things happen, all I can think is the planet is saying to us, "Sorry, I just let you live here."
So ash on, Eyjafjallajokull, ash on. Teach humanity a thing or two.
]]>“I want to hate things other people love.”
Me, to writers at a conference.
In all fairness, the context was a conversation about diversity of opinion, and subjectivity.
Peace out 28. Hello 29.
]]>Do you think that...
Go forth.
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