Where I've Been

The other night Katie and I were talking -- as we often do -- and the conversation turned to where we "are going" in life.

It got me thinking, first, about where I am, much less going. I push carts for a big retailer with a wage barely above minimum wage. I do the same thing day in and day out. Why am I here? How did I get to place that seems to be going nowhere? What have I been doing? The answers came to me more quickly than I expected. And, I think, converge: I wanted to marry Katie.

She had a shot at what I thought would be a fantastic opportunity for her a thousand miles away and I let her know I thought it would be a fantastic opportunity for her even if it was a thousand miles away. She got the job and I followed her down because, well, I was going to marry her. (And she had no clue about the latter.)

My job did not follow me, nor did new ones appear quickly. My bills, however, did follow and did appear quickly. The only interview I had was pretty sketchy and I am glad that I didn't end up with the job. Pushing carts was the only job that came my way.

That pretty much answers the why and how. Next I started thinking , "So I am where I am so I could marry Katie... so I could prepare for the rest of our lives together." Wait, so I've spent the last year and a half getting ready for the rest of my life? That is true, but only to the extent that every day we are getting ready for the rest of our lives. "Is that it?" I wondered.

No. It is not. I am pushing carts but I enjoy my life (I am married! To a wonderful lady!). Moreover, I have enjoyed it, even when it was getting ready to get married, even before Katie knew this was my plan. I've enjoyed road-tripping, I've enjoyed spending a lot of time with my parents in Minnesota before I came down here, and more time when they were able to visit, I enjoyed seeing Katie regularly, I enjoyed going to church, I enjoyed meeting and getting to know new people (if only a couple of them well), I have enjoyed working on my car (at least part of the time), I've enjoyed learning new things at work, I have enjoyed learning how hard I can work, I've enjoyed having a regular routine that lasts longer than a semester.

And this isn't a complete list! My low level low wage life has been good! Most of the days haven't been exciting, but the events have been. (If my life was a movie I think it would be pretty good, more on that later.)

In other words, I have enjoyed living now, not just getting ready to live later, even though it has "just" been pushing carts "getting ready" for The Next Big Thing. If The Next Big Thing never comes (although I think it will) I'll be ok, in fact, I am sure I will continue to enjoy life as much as I have.

The Second Step

I have successfully completed the second step of becoming a great writer: not writing.

I know, it sounds odd to say that, especially as I just wrote a post about the one defining thing about writers is that they write. Well, they also spend a lot of time not writing, and I seem to be better at that part.

I have a common theme running through my blog posts, going back five years (although many of them are lost), that theme now continues, "I had some great things written in my head, but they didn't hit the page."

I didn't work I think that I would have a lot more time to write. In fact, I would probably have 25-40 more hours a week to write. Of course, all the things that pop into my head while pushing carts wouldn't and I would probably end up doing the same thing that I do when I get home anyway, splitting my time between reading up on the day's news and playing mafia wars.

This is a really boring post, I know that, I am just going to say that straight up. But in the past week I've spent enough time on the second step of writing that I need to spend at least some time on the first part.

Like God

me: heh

Are you on FB chat?

Jeff: Yep.

I'm everywhere.

me: Just like God...

Jeff: well… not exactly

Writing for Its Own Sake

Writer: One who writes.

It is a fairly straightforward definition but one I find more often than not difficult to fulfill. People tell me I am a good writer and I enjoy it, yet I rarely write more than pithy emails these days. So I decided that I ought to start writing again, for its own sake.

The best writers are the ones that write daily, even if most of the pages end up being recycled, to only be written upon and recycled again. I guess it is just the very practice of writing something.

I did a lot of my best writing when I was in China. I mostly blogged about stuff that interested me. Sometimes the topics, I knew, were ones nobody else cared about. Other times I tried to write towards a goal of other people being interested. Obviously writing about something you nobody cares about doesn't go anywhere. Surprisingly, writing about something that you know does interest them (but doesn't interest you) doesn't turn out well most of the time.

If I have more than one or two readers going forward I am going to be surprised. But I'm not writing for them. I am writing for me. I am writing for the sake of writing.

Another Bumper Sticker

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JM Addington
jm@jmaddington.com
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Sent from my phone, which has spordically working "A" & "B" keys. Oh, and no spellcheck which I have become quite accustomed to.

Scary? Yes.

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JM Addington
jm@jmaddington.com
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Sent from my phone, which has spordically working "A" & "B" keys. Oh, and no spellcheck which I have become quite accustomed to.

Wait for it...

How much heat do you think Obama will catch for supposedly calling the Cambridge police stupid? I am betting the "blogosphere" is already catching on fire.

In case you are wondering, referring to a recent where a black man was arrested after breaking into his own home*, Obama said, "[t]he Cambridge police acted stupidly [given there was evidence the man was in his own home]."

*And showing two forms of ID to top it. Of course, he was arrested for disorderly conduct (charges were dropped today), not breaking and entering.

Food Insects

From Zach Braff's Facebook page:

Do you think Noah had to bring extra insects to feed the frogs? If so, were they told ahead of time they were the food insects versus the repopulating the world insects and if so to that, were they in a cabin like coach where they had to bring pre-purchased snacks?

@JJ: You are absolutely right.

Tennesse = Safe Driving?

Well, that is how the local media will be spinning it after Allstate's 5th Annual Best Drivers Report. The top ten:

1. Sioux Falls, S.D.
2. Fort Collins, Colo.
3. Chattanooga, Tenn. (21.4% better than the national average)
4. Cedar Rapids, Iowa
5. Knoxville, Tenn. (19% better than the national average)
6. Fort Wayne, Ind.
7. Lexington-Fayette, Ky.
8. Eugene, Ore.
9. Boise, Idaho
10. Colorado Springs, Colo

After driving here for five months I have to come to the conclusion that either (a) Tennesse drivers are less likely to get into accidents but not neccesarily due to safer driving* or (b) I really have no idea how bad the rest of the country drives.

Minneapolis and St. Paul come in at 39 (4.5% better than the national average) and 41 (3.6% better than the national average), respectively.

P.S. As I was looking for something regarding methodology on the study. The L.A. Times calls it an "in-depth analysis." Allstate says:

The Allstate Best Drivers Report is produced solely to boost the country’s discussion about safe driving and to increase awareness of the importance of being tolerant and attentive behind the wheel. The report is not used to determine auto insurance rates.

Uh huh. I am leaning towards option a above...

*E.g., safer driving conditions could be a factor.

"I'm Parked Somewhere Out Here..."

Words you *don't* want to hear as you are walking around the parking lot with boards on your shoulder for a customer.

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Sent from my phone, which has spordically working "A" & "B" keys. oh, no spellcheck which I have become quite acostemed to.

More Penelope

Guess this is mostly what I have pictures of on my phone.

Actually I have a couple more that are pretty good (not of the dogs!) but I need to blur out some identifing information.

Penelope Helping Katie Drive

Little too big? Maybe?