19 Sep 06
To my surprise, I was back in Korea last night. It was towards the end of whatever I was doing there. At the travel office, two young American women were working there. One was not very attractive but was awfully nice and helpful; the other was quite attractive, but she was exceptionally rude. Go figure. As I walk into the small office, I overhear the rude one say something about how enlisted sailors are worthless compared to soldiers. I'm no king of confrontation, but I felt a rebuke was warranted on this ignorant barb. I politely point out the finer aspects of the jobs which navy ships require and mention that I too am a sailor. And the barbs come flying my direction. Ever meet those people who just have terrible attitudes? The ones who can turn any day into a bad day? The ones who can turn a bad day into a worst day? It's a damn shame. Life is way too short to walk around pissed off.
There was also a small portion of my dream when I was in a Japanese Family Mart (basically the equivalent of a 7-11 with people that actually take pride in their work). I can't remember much, but it was freezing cold outside. I remember being the only white guy around... which always seems to be the case. Three Japanese women walk in and they're shivering from the cold and appear to be underdressed. I bought the three of them piping hot Suntori Boss coffees in those small cans to warm their hands. They said, 'thank you,' in Japanese and I walked out the door to get on my bike. That is all that I remember.
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I love the Internet. If I have any question, I know there is an answer posted by some weirdo on some site out there. Ever heard the expression, "jumped the shark"? The dudes on Lostcasts.com always talk about the fans saying that the show has "jumped the shark" meaning that it has gone overboard. If you look it up... oh, wait. I am such a huge idiot. I looked it up. I thought it meant when something really great happened on the show, and everyone else was F'ed up. Yeah, guess who's F'ed up. Me, baby. Me.
18 Sep 06
I see these old men who have more money than god, yet they're still working their 15 hour days in order to innovate and leave their mark in the business world. Is it shallow for me to say that if I could retire this afternoon and not feel unfulfilled? I don't think so. I worked enough while I was in Japan for an entire lifetime. I can safely sit on my ass and be happy about it.
I guess the bottom line is that these workaholic folks see this as their life work and what they do. Either that, or they just don't like their families... which in and of itself is a damn good reason for working 15 hours a day. Think about it: you get to be away from the annoying wife and kids and at the same time fool yourself into thinking that you're doing it for them. Brilliant.
Maybe it would be different if it were me (the working too hard thing). If I built something with my own hands, I would likely be reluctant to turn it over to others with different competencies and visions. Still... what is the most important thing in our cookie-cutter existences? Well... I could probably argue that it's new episodes of AskANinja and Strong Bad Email.
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I'm lucky in this sense: I've always known what a good friend is. My first two close friends were neighbors of mine and by no means 'good friends'; unfortunately, I learned a lot from those two relationships. Their allegiances changed on a daily or weekly basis. As a six year old, I found it borderline impossible to keep up with who I was currently friends with between these two guys, but I always seemed to spend 8 hours a day with either one of them or both. I learned over a five or six year period what a healthy friendship was NOT about.
I guess that the main theme of a good friendship is economy of emotion. If a relationship takes too much out of you, then it likely means you're forcing it. My closest pals are so easy to be friends with. Mike and Rich. Jay. Jimmy. Jeff. Scottie. Tedward and Greg and Justin and Eric. My old boss. So at 26, why would I turn them all away for someone who made me work to stay afloat in the friendship. There's only one thing I can think of: I'm a natural born martyr. That statement may be a bit dramatic... but I always do feel more comfortable suffering than watching someone else suffer, and I knew that I could come to this person's aid... I also knew that it would be at my expense. I still have no regrets. I am just a slow learner.
17 Sep 06
I'm not sure if Ironic is the right word... Ironic with a capital 'I'. Cruel joke of fate might be a better phrase. You go back and read old journals, or you remember things which you promised yourself. Everybody writes their little rules. Women have their six year plan. Guys have their guy commandments or whatever. I had my rules. "No matter what, John... don't do it for the money..." or "Nothing can replace the independence of a solo lifestyle. Be single, young Jedi." And on and on and on.
Why do we break our own rules? Why do we dismiss the wisdom of youth for the jaded and miserable knowledge of our 'experiences'? We have a pretty good idea of who we are before the burden of living and surviving and conforming gets in the way. Seriously. When do we sell out? When do we stop thinking our own thoughts and mind-meld with the new robots of our generation? When did I start listening to Shakira? 17 year old John would mercilessly beat 26 year old John for his ceasing all original thought.
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