The transformation is slow, and not pretty.
The plan, for those following my character arc, was to start getting out more often into the cold bright world outside my room and elevate my human interaction skillz. One of the requisite tools for this process was a laptop (and still is). So far I've taken it to danny_g's, to where I work*, and to the living room of my house (where I infected one of my roommates with a scorching case of StarCraft). Still haven't managed to get it to a cafe, which was the intended ideal, although I did seem to get great throughput at work.
At this very moment I'm back from work and in my crowded yet chilly little room. Had a brief moment of shock when I flipped open my lappy and saw my reflection in the dark screen: my black hoodie keeping my head warm, shadowing my face, now scruffy with Musketeery proto-beard, and topped off daringly with a full-size cans headset and microphone. I was a little taken aback by this vision, and am glad I don't have the capacity to show you a picture. However, had someone showed me a picture of this apparition, I would have assumed he'd have a nasal voice, wear a cape and smell of french fries. Verdict: Geeky, and not the cool kind, the social pariah kind. In short, the antithesis of what I'd really like to grow into this year.
(Parenthetical aside: About a decade ago, I choreographed and performed a solo dance piece called "Ladybird Strikes Back," that was thematically based on the bizarre mid-metamorphosis of a butterfly. I used a serendipitously ratched recording of something by Mickey Hart and "Break Away" by Big Pig for music. In retrospect, I like to call that my angry teenage girl phase. May speak more of this later.)
I could blame external forces for all my woes. Like "the weather always seems to get super-crappy whenever I want to do something requiring mobility," but I've been through this before. I crave the comfort and security of my routine, which limits my motivation to try something different, but not my ability. So I think I'll take a page from Lavonne's less fucked up plan and schedule myself with a little more detail. My brother gave me his old Zire PalmPilot, so hopefully technology will boost me again.
Tomorrow's plan is to be awake by 9, exercised and fed by 10, out of the house by noon, shopping by 1, surfing at a cafe near work by 2 leaving my ample time to casually wander over there on time by 4, instead of my usual (and wholly ineffective) scrambling to wait for 2 bus connections. Will it work out that way? Well, I've written it down, so that's at least a step in the right direction. With any luck, those of you who care will be reaping the benefits by 5 tomorrow.
This plan requires sleep, though, and it's almost 1am. Night for now.
*In this instance, "work" is Le Chien Chaud, a gourmet hotdog place in Mission. I hesitate to call it a restaurant, and it's not quite a diner, in the same way that, say, a Subway is not really those things, either. For simplicity, I'll refer to it as a "shop." It's on 4th and 20th, and I'm there Thursday and Friday nights, and it's been pretty quiet lately due to the cold, so I encourage you to come on down and say hi, and maybe if you're really entertaining I'll cut you a deal of some sort.
The plan, for those following my character arc, was to start getting out more often into the cold bright world outside my room and elevate my human interaction skillz. One of the requisite tools for this process was a laptop (and still is). So far I've taken it to danny_g's, to where I work*, and to the living room of my house (where I infected one of my roommates with a scorching case of StarCraft). Still haven't managed to get it to a cafe, which was the intended ideal, although I did seem to get great throughput at work.
At this very moment I'm back from work and in my crowded yet chilly little room. Had a brief moment of shock when I flipped open my lappy and saw my reflection in the dark screen: my black hoodie keeping my head warm, shadowing my face, now scruffy with Musketeery proto-beard, and topped off daringly with a full-size cans headset and microphone. I was a little taken aback by this vision, and am glad I don't have the capacity to show you a picture. However, had someone showed me a picture of this apparition, I would have assumed he'd have a nasal voice, wear a cape and smell of french fries. Verdict: Geeky, and not the cool kind, the social pariah kind. In short, the antithesis of what I'd really like to grow into this year.
(Parenthetical aside: About a decade ago, I choreographed and performed a solo dance piece called "Ladybird Strikes Back," that was thematically based on the bizarre mid-metamorphosis of a butterfly. I used a serendipitously ratched recording of something by Mickey Hart and "Break Away" by Big Pig for music. In retrospect, I like to call that my angry teenage girl phase. May speak more of this later.)
I could blame external forces for all my woes. Like "the weather always seems to get super-crappy whenever I want to do something requiring mobility," but I've been through this before. I crave the comfort and security of my routine, which limits my motivation to try something different, but not my ability. So I think I'll take a page from Lavonne's less fucked up plan and schedule myself with a little more detail. My brother gave me his old Zire PalmPilot, so hopefully technology will boost me again.
Tomorrow's plan is to be awake by 9, exercised and fed by 10, out of the house by noon, shopping by 1, surfing at a cafe near work by 2 leaving my ample time to casually wander over there on time by 4, instead of my usual (and wholly ineffective) scrambling to wait for 2 bus connections. Will it work out that way? Well, I've written it down, so that's at least a step in the right direction. With any luck, those of you who care will be reaping the benefits by 5 tomorrow.
This plan requires sleep, though, and it's almost 1am. Night for now.
*In this instance, "work" is Le Chien Chaud, a gourmet hotdog place in Mission. I hesitate to call it a restaurant, and it's not quite a diner, in the same way that, say, a Subway is not really those things, either. For simplicity, I'll refer to it as a "shop." It's on 4th and 20th, and I'm there Thursday and Friday nights, and it's been pretty quiet lately due to the cold, so I encourage you to come on down and say hi, and maybe if you're really entertaining I'll cut you a deal of some sort.
VIEW 7 of 7 COMMENTS
salome:
Thanks so much for the sweet compliment on my set!
carla:
Aww, well if it makes you feel any better, we pretty much didn't see anyone but Michele, her man, and danny_g. Next time, though, the plan is for a much higher number of interactions.