The Long Now - a decade in review post
This month has been rife with postings, bloggings, writings, and musings regarding the past decade. I started this journal in 2005, and gods only know if I can make a respectable list with what I've got left of a brain after far too much rum last night for New Year's Eve, but here goes. The double aughts (amusingly, not far from the size of ear jewelry that I wear,) were characterized by a whole range of factors: primary among them is going to be my starting and continuing a Master's program at one of the premier research institutions in NYC, battling, resisting, and doing everything in my power to eke out a place for myself amongst the educated elite, only to not be accepted into the PhD program at the end. Such was my determination that I allowed myself to find myself unemployed and living off the good graces of my then partner, affectionately referred to in this journal as La Loquita IV, LIV or sometimes, L4. I also gained an unreasonable amount of weight, making disturbingly reckless diet choices and normally four or five of them in combination. After 5 years of graduate work, I chose to seek state licensure for my field, made sure I was gainfully employed, paid down my debts, managed to get current on my car loan, and started to make better diet decisions. But none of this came about before I managed to lose L4 as a result of my joblessness. Not being able to keep my household afloat alone, I allowed a string of roomates, which included my parents for an entire year since they would have otherwise found themselves out on their asses because my grandparents, in their infinite wisdom, had decided to eject the two medical professionals helping them to make sound decisions in their care, in favor of renovating an entire level of their house. I managed to get involved in plenty of interesting encounters with people like seekingsartre dropped me like a hot rock the day after Valentine's that year. Shortly thereafter, the Assassin came onto the seen, and that entire roller coaster ride has been one I can scarcely describe accurately. Though, I'm fairly certain that if you hit the 'Assassin' tag in the cloud, you'll be provided no end of interesting reading. Especially since she's recently reconnected with me, and it seems there may be some interaction in the near future. In the vacuum of self worth that is created by a distinct absence of romantic involvement, alcohol is frequently utilizable as ones sole recognizable comfort. Ergo, the emergence of 2x4 Roadhouse bar as a viable alternative, and commencement of saucy picture collection, culminating in me working the door there on odd weekend nights, and what affectionately became termed "24 hr Fridays" where I'd go to my professional position, waking up at 6am on a Friday, work there all day, rush home, nap for an hour or so, get on the train and sleep on the way down, then eat while setting up the bar, and be on the door by 7pm, close down the bar and escort the girls/owner out by 5am, get on the train and be walking in the door at 6am Saturday morning. That kinda sucked, but I got to get paid for watching the debauchery unfold.
I've been published, and published again, and published a couple more times. So much so, in fact, that I may yet be developing something of a name for myself. The SexHerald previously occupied a great deal of my time, though has passed into memory since it was providing me no sort of respectable income, and the directorship was impeding my progress towards doing just that by virtue of assklownery. Twitter has become a major mode of communication for me, and you should notice the widget with my posts somewhere on the page... I smoked cigarettes for about 6 months while the folks lived with me, quit, stopped drinking heavily 3x/wk, got serious about budo, had to stop that because of the pain in my leg. Went to see 3 different orthopedists cuz of the pain, only the third of which actually took an x-ray (instead of telling me, 'aw, it's just muscular' like the first two) and his jaw dropped. "You shouldn't even be walking on this!" were the first words out of his mouth. The hip was replaced, but I lost my full time position, so I'm again living off public assistance and the good will of others while hoping beyond hope that another full time position is just around the corner. My sister has had to move back in with me and that has created no end of issues, not to mention which I'm remembering vividly why it we're oil and water. I've been having ideas of joining the military, of doing radical things, and above all, creating one helluva mess. I know one thing above all: I can't stay in this situation at all. I'm considering doing something incredibly interesting and shuffling off to the other side of the country to the city where both my weapons and open hand teacher are both now living, and doing something just to make money so I can spend my life learning budo, because to be truthful, it's the only thing besides Spanish at which I've shown some sort of proficiency. Since Spanish is clearly not giving me a stable career, I need to do something else. Stay tuned.
Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, and others have been visited, and I'm steadfastly planning a trip to Argentina. I know I've been saying that since I was an undergrad, but I'm damned sure I'm gonna do it this time. Issa Arden has resurfaced in my life, via a social networking website, and I'm interested to see how that plays out. I've tattooed my brother, my cousin, his friends, my brother's roommate, Philth, I've got one planned for myself, and I'm steadily working on one for Wild Bill. I had the Ninja, had to sell it to my uncle, Coronel Cockbag when L4 left, and have fought verbally numerous times with him when he's insulted my religion, my heritage, the Spanish language, my job choice, and anything else that I've grown to care at all for during my long and incredibly interesting life. He, much like my sister's on-again, off-again underpaid, uninsured, uneducated, ex-con, racist, anti-semitic, white trash boyfriend, may not be so lucky as to be the beneficiaries of my mercy for much longer.
Finally, and saving the best for last - the girls: PNut and Sheeba, my two beautiful felines that are my one saving grace during my difficult times. I can't say enough about how they make me feel better every time I walk into the house. They're now about 4 going on 5, and if I didn't start my day with the both of them rubbing against my head to wake me, I think it would be a great disaster. My sister saved them from the trash since the owner of the mother cat had apparently thrown them out the day they were born. She bottle fed them, raised them until they were strong, then had the second of her two Rav4 totaling accidents in two years and promptly lost her mind. Then she decided she was moving in with the previously referenced piece of shit boyfriend, and wanted to get rid of the girls to a non-kill shelter, after a year and a half of us caring for the animals. I made the magnanimous decision to take them over, and they've been Daddy's girls ever since. Their brother, Daylight, unfortunately had to be euthanized because he went completely and irrevocably feral - incapable of any sort of control shortly after being spayed and while staying with my sister. It was a very sad day.
This decade has gone by quickly, I'm mid - thirties, and I'm almost certain that the next decade is going to be insane!
"Logrará nuestro heroe llegar hasta el jardín de los senderos que se bifurcan? No dejen de ver el próximo capítulo de 'Don Luis en vivo'!"